(EFE)
As EFE was able to learn from a source that was in the courtroom, on the second day of the hearing in the Havana court in which 15 people were tried for the alleged crimes of “attack, public disorder, contempt and incitement to commit a crime,” the lawyers charged against the evidence and witnesses presented by the Prosecutor’s Office.
The source said he was “surprised” to see the position of the lawyers. “They are all from the state, none of them are independent… I have to say that I fear for their safety,” she added.
The source said he was “surprised” to see the position of the lawyers. “They are all from the State, none of them is independent… I have to say that I fear for their safety”
According to this person, one of them said: “It is time for the country to start healing its wounds, it is time for the country to sit down and talk, it is time for the country to create public spaces so that all those people who do not think alike can demonstrate safely and legally without being charged with a crime”.
Likewise, another lawyer quoted the iconic phrase of the poet and national hero of Cuba, José Martí, according to this same source: “With everyone and for the good of all.”
This same source told EFE that the Prosecutor’s Office has withdrawn the crimes of “attack, public disorder, contempt and incitement to commit a crime” from their accusation and has only maintained that of “sedition.”
This change caused annoyance among the lawyers, because this criminal offense implies “an intention to destabilize the order of the State”, according to the Penal Code.
As they argued, this is not sustained in the case of the 15 defendants because they participated in a demonstration that took place in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre, far from any of the seats of power, as it did in the protests outside the Capitol.
One of the visible faces in this trial is the young Jonathan Torres, who was 17 years old at the time of the events. Originally an eight-year sentence was requested for him, which has now been changed to one that can be subsidized with correctional work without internment. “They are asking Jonathan for five years of subsidized sanction, that is, from home to work, from home to school,” explained Orlando Ramírez, his stepfather.
Ramírez revealed to Martí Noticias that, previously, the Prosecutor’s Office had argued that the authorities had not used firearms when confronting the protesters on 11J. However, a witness presented by the Public Ministry, a major, said that “indeed, some of his companions had firearms and he had heard shots.”
According to Torres’ stepfather, the request for sentences has increased in some cases, such as that of Dayana Camejo Ramos, the only woman accused in the case. “They asked her for seven years and now 10”
According to Torres’ stepfather, the request for sentences has increased in some cases, such as that of Dayana Camejo Ramos, the only woman accused in the case. “They asked her for seven years and now 10,” he said.
According to the prosecutor’s first request, to which EFE has had access and is dated December 30 of last year, the defendants carried out actions “of unlimited violence.”
According to the letter, they are accused of throwing “stones, bottles, logs and other items” at the police and shouting slogans against the Cuban government and the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The defendants range from 51 to 17 years old. The trials against the protesters of July 11, 2021 have been taking place in Cuba since the end of that year.
Relatives of the convicted and NGOs have criticized these processes, alleging lack of guarantees, fabrication of evidence and high sentences. Neither the foreign media nor the independent press have access to the trials.
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