By Rosa Tania Valdes and Jeff Franks
HAVANA (Reuters) - Preparations to free 52 Cuban political prisoners and send them to Spain in a deal brokered by the Catholic Church picked up pace on Saturday as the mother of one prisoner said he was already on his way to Havana.
The release was not yet confirmed by the church, but it issued a statement on Saturday saying 12 more prisoners would be freed "soon," raising the total to 17 from the five it originally said would be the first to get out.
Moralinda Paneque, the mother of prisoner Jose Luis Garcia Paneque told Reuters she had received word her son had left a prison near the city of Las Tunas and was being driven to Havana, 410 miles (660 km) east, by state security agents.
She said the government's plan was to gather the family in the Cuban capital, where they would take a flight together to Madrid, although she did not think they would leave Saturday.
"We are waiting for a government car to pick us up at any minute to take us to Havana," Paneque said.
The family of another prisoner, Antonio Villarreal, was being transported by state security from the city of Santa Clara to Havana, 168 miles (270 km) east, a family member in that city told Reuters.
Irene Viera, wife of prisoner Julio Cesar Galvez, said she and her son, who live in Havana, had been called in for medical examinations on Sunday ahead of the trip to Spain.
"I'm already saying goodbye to friends," she said.
Families of other prisoners said state security agents advised them to be ready for departure at any time.
It appeared likely, they said, that their imprisoned loved ones would not get to come home before leaving, but all said they were happy to go to Spain.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos helped settle the release by agreeing in Havana this week that Spain would take all the prisoners if they agreed to go there.
LONG PRISON SENTENCES
It was not clear if the speedy progress meant all prisoners would be freed sooner than the three to four months the church initially said the process would take.
The 52 men were among 75 political dissidents arrested in a 2003 government crackdown that damaged Cuba's diplomatic relations. Others were released previously, many for health reasons.
They have been serving sentences ranging from 13 to 24 years for violations of Cuban laws aimed at curbing opposition, and what the government views as subversive activities.
The independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights says Cuba currently holds 167 political prisoners, but that includes 10 already out on parole and three others convicted of Cuban hotel bombings in 1997.
The government, which views dissidents as U.S.-backed mercenaries, has not explained why it agreed to the release, but it follows a new church-state dialogue launched in a May 19 meeting between President Raul Castro and Cuban Catholic Church leader Cardinal Jaime Ortega.
Cuba appears to be trying to improve its image, and perhaps relations with Europe and the United States, both of whom have pressed for the release of political prisoners and improved human rights, as Castro struggles to pull the communist-led island out of a severe financial crisis.
Cuba drew international condemnation for the February 23 death of dissident hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo, then further criticism for the harassment of the dissident group "Ladies in White" during protest marches seeking freedom for their husbands and sons, all jailed since the 2003 crackdown.
Subsequently, the government slightly relaxed policies towards dissidents, then reached the agreement with the church.
The U.S. has made freeing political prisoners a condition of improved relations with Cuba and on Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. government was "encouraged" by the planned release.
The church and government have had difficult relations since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power, but they began to improve after a 1998 visit to the island by Pope John Paul II.
The release of the 52 prisoners will be the largest since 101 were freed, along with nearly 200 prisoners jailed for common crimes, following the pope's visit.
(Editing by Todd Eastham)
