The United States and the European Union have called on Cuba to release its political prisoners. The call came in response to the death of dissident Orlando Zapata, who died on Tuesday after an 85-day hunger strike intended to obtain better prison conditions.

Mr Zapata, who was 42, died at a hospital in Havana where he had been receiving fluids intravenously in an attempt to keep him alive. He had been in prison since 2003, serving a sentence of at least 25 years after being convicted of disrespect, public disorder and resistance to the island's communist government.

Cuban President Raúl Castro said he regretted Mr Zapata's death, but noted that it was not due to torture or other forms of inhuman treatment. He was speaking during a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had been petitioned by a group of Cuban dissidents to raise the issue of political prisoners with Mr Castro.

Amnesty International lists Mr Zapata as one of 58 political prisoners in Cuba. The Cuban Human Rights Commission puts the number at about 200. Cuba denies holding any such prisoners.