Last Wednesday the Cuban Justice sentenced 127 people to a total of 1,916 years in prison for acts related to the anti-government protests of July 11 in Havana.
The Supreme Court of the Republic informed in a press release of six sentences related to the events that occurred in the capital’s municipalities of Diez de Octubre and Arrojo Naranjo, where some of the most violent incidents of the demonstrations that day took place, which were generally peaceful.
In fact, the only officially recognized death in these protests was recorded in La Güinera (Arroyo Naranjo), where a man was shot dead by a policeman.
The process of the People’s Provincial Court of Havana, held between December 14 and February 3, had 129 defendants, of whom 128 have been convicted.
A total of 127 have received prison sentences – between 6 and 30 years – and one person received a sentence of 4 years “correctional work without internment”. Only one defendant was acquitted.
The Supreme note does not refer to ages. According to the NGO Prisoners Defenders, among those convicted there are seven young people between 16 and 17 years old, who have received sentences of between 7 and 19 years in prison, and another one, who is the one who received the sentence of correctional work.
In Cuba the minimum criminal age is 16 years. The Penal Code (article 17.1) contemplates the possibility of halving the sentences of people aged 16 and 17.
The defendants, investigated mainly for sedition and theft, were accused of “serious disturbances and acts of vandalism, with the purpose of destabilizing public order, collective security and citizen tranquility,” according to the Supreme Court.
The maximum sentences are two sentences of 30 years, followed by one of 26, three of 25, eight of 23, three of 22, three of 21, 11 of 20, four of 19, eleven of 18, six of 16 and 9 of 15 years in prison.
In addition, ten people were sentenced to 14 years in prison, six people to 13 years, 17 people to twelve years, five to eleven years, ten to ten years, four to nine years, eight to eight years, four to seven years and two To six.
The president of Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, described the sentence to Efe as “barbaric”, considered that they have an exemplary character and stressed that “the vast majority demonstrated peacefully.”
The corner of Toyo and Güinera
The facts judged are the events of Esquina de Toyo (October 10) and La Güinera, two of the most cited by the Cuban government and the official media for having recorded violent incidents. Most of the protests on July 11 were peaceful.
In the case of Esquina de Toyo, the court considered “proven and demonstrated” that on July 11 the convicts “attempted to violently subvert the constitutional order” by obeying “instructions given by people both from Cuba and from abroad.”
He assured that “they threw stones and bottles at various officials” and “installations of the National Revolutionary Police, patrol cars; they turned over a motorcycle and cars belonging to the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power and caused injuries to other people and serious material damage.”
In the case of La Güinera, “they threw stones, sticks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at agents” and “other workers from state institutions (…) who were injured,” in addition to besieging “for several hours” a “Unit of the National Revolutionary Police.
The Supreme Court highlights that the judges “took into account the degree of participation, the personal conditions of those involved, as well as the seriousness, harmfulness and violence of the acts committed.”
He also highlighted “the exceptional situation that the country was experiencing as a result of the pandemic,” particularly in Havana, where “exceptional measures had been taken to counteract its effects, which included, among others, the limitation of movement and social isolation.”
The court also ruled that those convicted are obliged to “compensate the people who were injured as a result of the acts committed and repair the damage caused to the entities.”
Both the sanctioned defendants and the Prosecutor’s Office have the right to file an appeal before the People’s Supreme Court against the sentence issued by the judicial body that conducted the trial in the first instance, recalls the statement.
The press release underlines that the trials were carried out “with due process and strict respect for constitutional rights and guarantees.”
It also indicates that the process “attended several relatives and friends of those involved, who were able to witness the professionalism and transparency with which the hearings were held.”
hundreds of defendants
Since December, trials of July 11 protesters have been taking place in Cuba, with hundreds of defendants. Several NGOs have denounced lack of guarantees, fabrication of evidence and very high penalties.
According to Justicia 11J and the NGO Cubalex, a total of 1,442 people have been detained in relation to the protests. Of these, at least 756 remain in detention centers.
Prisoners Defenders points out that at least 842 people were in prison on the island at the end of 2021 for political reasons, mostly for the events of July 11.
The Cuban authorities, for their part, deny that there are political prisoners in the country and assure that the trials have to do with “acts of vandalism” and “serious disturbances of order.” They underline that due process is being followed in all cases.
According to the Cuban Attorney General’s Office, 790 people have been prosecuted in the country for the July 11 protests, of which 55 are between 16 and 17 years old. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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