Friends in London

Some times it seems as if no one of any note out there gives a fig about what really goes on in Fidel Castro's tropical island paradise.

It's rare to see writers or playwrights, for instance, taking a stand against the many abuses and excesses of the Castro regime - even though these very same writers and playwrights were always ready and able to take a public stand against say, Augusto Pinochet. Or George W Bush.

So, here is some much-welcomed news: a group of prominent British intellectuals, all members of PEN, have written a letter to The Guardian calling on the Castro brothers to release the 55 dissidents still behind bars on the island following the Black Spring arrests of five years ago.

The letter also calls on Havana to lift all restrictions on freedom of expression.

For the record, the signatories are: Lisa Appignanes (President, English PEN), Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Rosie Boycott, Jonathan Heawood, Hanif Kureishi, Philip Pullman, Carole Seymour-Jones and Tom Stoppard.

H/T Penultimos Dias