Cuban dissident on hunger strike dies

A jailed Cuban dissident has died, 50 days after going on a hunger strike.

Wilmar Villar was protesting against a four-year prison sentence for taking part in a demonstration.

The Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission said the 31-year-old man, who had been critically ill for several days, died after he was taken to a hospital in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on January 14.

The commission said the government bore full responsibility for Mr Villar's death.

Mr Villar was arrested last November and sentenced to four years for crimes including disrespecting authority and resisting arrest.

The Cuban government is yet to comment on his death.