File picture of Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez talking with a member of former US President Jimmy Carter’s staff (not depicted) at the hotel in Havana where Carter is staying in, on March 30, 2011.
Young Cuban opposition blogger and reporter Yoani Sanchez has been released after more than a day in custody, reported The New York Times.
The arrest prevented her from covering the controversial trial of a man charged with the death of a major Cuban rights champion.
She tweeted her thanks to supporters today, writing that her living room was filled with supportive friends and family:
Sanchez and her husband were returned to their home late Friday night, reported The New York Times.
The 37-year-old activist was arrested Thursday in the eastern city Bayamo ahead of the Friday trial of a Spanish man charged in the death of prominent Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, a high-profile case she was covering as a freelancer for the Madrid-based newspaper El Pais, said Bloomberg.
Known internationally for her Generation Y blog, which turns a critical eye on the Caribbean island’s communist government, Sanchez's arrest sparked global outcry. She was detained alongside 20 other pro-democracy activists, according to US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, reported Bloomberg. It was not immediately clear whether others had been freed.
More from GlobalPost: Yoani Sanchez vs. the state
The Spanish man, Angel Carromero, is being charged with homicide related to a July road accident that killed major Cuban activist Paya, who is credited with a historic 2002 petition for a popular referendum seeking key democratic rights.
Paya's relatives, however, told Agence-France Press on Saturday that they blame the Cuban government for Paya's death and think Carromero should be freed.
The Friday trial ended without a verdict, according to AP and FOX News Latino. Carromero could face a seven-year prison term.
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