Cuba has decided to release seven out of 59 dissidents who have been imprisoned since 2003, a decision that critics of the ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro see as a sign of change under his brother's leadership. The first releases of jailed dissidents since August were arranged by Spain for health reasons and announced by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos on Friday. Moratinos expressed satisfaction with the unilateral decision made by Cuban authorities after dialogue with Spain. According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, four of the dissidents will be taken to Spain with their families for medical treatment. These four dissidents have been transferred from various prisons in Cuba to the Combinado del Este prison on the outskirts of Havana. The individuals are Omar Pernet, Jose Gabriel Ramon Castillo, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Pedro Pablo Alvarez. Alvarez, who is 60 years old, mentioned in a telephone interview with Reuters from prison that he hopes there will be more releases besides theirs. He also mentioned that the four of them are doing well and have been treated well. Alvarez stated that they are unsure of when they will be released, as it could be either today or tomorrow. The dissidents were detained as part of a political crackdown orchestrated by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in March 2003, resulting in the imprisonment of 75 of his opponents with sentences of up to 28 years. Sixteen individuals were previously released on medical grounds. Economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, one of the freed dissidents, viewed the recent releases as a positive development initiated by acting President Raul Castro, who has been in charge of Cuba since Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. Fidel Castro has not made any public appearances since then. Espinosa Chepe described the government's actions as a sensible move supported by reformist factions within Cuba pushing for change. He stated that it demonstrates a shift in the political climate and will be advantageous for that shift. Another dissident, Manuel Cuesta Morua, mentioned that Raul Castro's government is addressing international demands for improved human rights in Cuba. Morua noted that the recent releases of political prisoners indicate that Spain's strategy of engaging with Cuba's communist government is producing tangible outcomes. According to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights, there were 234 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of 2007, a decrease from the previous year, suggesting a reduction in the number of Cubans imprisoned for political reasons under Raul Castro's leadership. Last year, Cuba freed its longest-serving political prisoner, Francisco Chaviano Gonzalez, who had been in jail for over 13 years. Morua stated that there will be additional releases as Havana gets ready to sign the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and a comparable agreement on economic and social rights next month. This would require Cuba to allow regular U.N. monitoring of its human rights situation starting in 2009. The Cuban government does not permit the International Red Cross to visit its prisons. It refutes detaining any political prisoners and refers to dissidents as "counter-revolutionary mercenaries" financed by its adversary, the United States.