Canada, the Vatican and several European nations have pressured Cuba to free the four dissidents. Communist officials insist there are no political prisoners on this island nation of 11 million people, only those jailed for common crimes. They reject the characterization of the four as prisoners of conscience. The four were arrested in July 1997 for criticizing a Communist Party document that they said did not present solutions to Cuba's severe economic problems. They were also accused of encouraging Cubans not to vote in that year's elections, holding two news conferences with foreign media, exhorting foreign businessmen not to invest in Cuba and asking Cuban exiles to encourage their kin on the island to undertake acts of civil disobedience.
Family members say the four rejected government offers to go into exile rather than face trial.
Scores of the defendants' supporters were temporarily detained before the hearings, evidently to prevent any protests outside the courthouse. The Associated Press .