Pardoned prisoner Carmen Valentin, one of eleven freed September 10 after some 20 years behind bars, waves a Puerto Rican flag upon her arrival at San Juan's airport September 11. Amidst crowds waving flags and chanting nationalist hymns, Valentin and five other pardoned Puerto Ricans returned to their homeland. The former prisoners met for several hours in an airport transit lounge, exploiting a technicality allowing them to be together there without violating parole conditions that forbid them to associate with convicted felons, including each other. Valentin told the crowd she felt "intense happiness" to "put my feet on this sacred ground."
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