Harsh sentences in Cuba for 120 participants in the social outbreak of 11J

“Theft” and “Sedition”. The Supreme Court of Cuba (TSC) considered these crimes “proven” for which 129 of the 790 people prosecuted for having taken to the streets during the social outbreak of July 11 last. Part of the protests led to clashes between demonstrators and members of the security forces. Damage to state property was also reported.

As officially reported, 31 people received sentences ranging between 20 and 30 years in prison, while another 25 citizens received sentences between 15 and 19 years. The punishment for the remaining 48 Cubans will be between 10 and 14 years in a penitentiary unit. One of the defendants must perform four years of “correctional work.” Only one of them was acquitted by the TSC. The age of those convicted is unknown at this time.

These trials began in mid-December and concluded in early February. All those who sat on the defendant’s bench had participated in the expressions of discontent in the municipality of Diez de Octubre, and in the popular neighborhood of La Güinera, where a policeman took the life of a protester, on July 12. These episodes caused special stupor in the Government because they are social sectors strongly affected by the economic crisis.

However, the prosecution considered that the reason for the protest, which especially involved young people and, in particular, Afro-descendants, was “to violently subvert the constitutional order”. The people who left their homes obeyed, according to the indictment, “instructions given by people both from Cuba and from abroad.” And that is why “they threw stones, sticks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at agents.”

latent anger

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for the portal The Young Cubawhat happened last July in La Güinera can be repeated due to “the vulnerable situation and precariousness of life in this neighbourhood”. “The picture “sharpens” while the breeding ground that triggered the protests remains unresolved: dilapidated housing, poverty and a strong presence of internal migration, especially from the eastern provinces. “The next blast may be around the corner and it could well be the citizens of La Güinera that will light the barn this time”.

Information about the convictions was widely reported in the official press. In the portal forum Cubadebate an unexpected event occurred. the minstrel Silvio Rodriguez He described the decisions made by the highest court as unfair. “If they committed the acts of violence of which they are accused, I agree that they be tried and that the corresponding penalties be applied to them. But whatAs far as I know, no one was killed. Sentences of 15, 20 and 30 years for public disorder? It doesn’t seem fair to me,” the author of “I give you a song” made known. Rodríguez added: “The ages of those convicted are not clarified either. With this the enemies of Cuba are harvesting. Let’s not allow it, being transparent and rectifying what needs to be rectified.”