Cuban dissident says he’s been released, still faces charges

MIAMI – A Cuban dissident who was jailed after a car crash involving a security official says he has been released from custody but could still face charges.

Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia said in a call from Cuba to supporters in Miami that he has been accused of assaulting the official. Journalists listened Wednesday as he dismissed it as a “false” accusation. He said a colleague has also been released.

Amnesty International says Ferrer was held without access to a lawyer or his family after his Aug. 3 arrest in eastern Cuba.

The Cuban government hasn’t commented on his case but routinely describes dissidents as “mercenaries” in the pay of Cuban-American opponents of the government.

Ferrer was among 75 dissidents imprisoned in a March 2003 crackdown. He was released in 2011.