The Cuban judges affirm that they feel threatened by their work in the cases against the 11J protesters and assure that they are willing to “change the toga and the platform, if necessary, for the rifle and the trench.” The Union of Jurists of Cuba (UNJC) held an assembly this Sunday in Havana in which it supported a statement by its capital branch in which they claim to be victims of “slander and discredit campaigns, after intervening in the judicial processes derived from the events of last July.
The president of the organization’s Provincial Board of Directors in Havana, Osmín Álvarez Bencomo, maintained that the work carried out by lawyers and prosecutors who “acted in accordance with due process” in dealing with these “extremely serious” cases is being disqualified because they are the “collective and violent uprising of a group of people against authorities and public order in order to overthrow him.”
According to the declaration of the Havana jurists, from the disclosure of the sentences, there are those who try to discredit the actions of the judges and prosecutors, mostly young
According to the declaration of the Havana jurists, from the disclosure of the sentences, there are those who try to discredit the actions of the judges and prosecutors, mostly young. “We categorically reject and will face any attempt at media manipulation, and we warn that, against anyone who tries to subvert the justice that is administered in the name of the Cuban people, through threats, discredit or simply providing information, the full weight of the law,” says the text.
Last Friday, the president of the Supreme People’s Court of Cuba, Rubén Remigio Ferro, warned that some people were disclosing images and full names of the judges and prosecutors who had intervened in the cases and for this he shared screenshots in a tweet of those remarks. “What is the moral character of those who, from anonymity or from a distance, dare to threaten Cuban judges? What do they want? Those who act like this, are they perhaps decent and good people? Do they want to spread fear? They are wrong! “, wrote.
Some activists who are sharing the images of the officials claimed not to hide under any anonymity. “Here we do not hide to demand justice. We publicly accuse those judges and prosecutors of the crime of prevarication because the sentences came ‘from above’ and the trials were a farce. We ask for sanctions,” responded activist Salomé García Bacallao.
The statement made public yesterday echoes these facts and offers support to colleagues. “To our prosecutors and judges, we say that in the face of such threats, the National Union of Jurists of Havana will accompany you permanently in this historic confrontation that you carry out from the Law on the front line in defense of the homeland. Long live our invincible and eternal Senior Jurist, Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro Ruz!”, says the text.
Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, first secretary of the Party in Havana, affirmed that a campaign has been unleashed against these workers whose objective is not really them, but “to destroy the judicial system of the Revolution.”
“There will be no hatred, there will only be justice. We support and endorse the declaration of the Cuban jurists. Revolutionary justice is the guarantor of the Revolution,” claimed the official.
“There will be no hatred, there will only be justice. We support and endorse the declaration of the Cuban jurists. Revolutionary justice is the guarantor of the Revolution”
Also present was Ludmila Collazo Rodríguez, vice president of the People’s Provincial Court of Havana, who, in addition to deploring this alleged campaign against the judges, vindicated the adherence to the law with which the jurists have worked, as well as “the principle of popular participation that governs the administration of justice under the principles of impartiality, transparency and an eminently humanistic character”.
He also recalled that the defense attorneys had praised compliance with due process and that the sentences are not yet final and can be appealed. “Being a prosecutor is a source of pride and a very difficult task, because you have to carry responsibility, justice and human sensitivity on a par,” declared a prosecutor to the official Cubadebatewhich added: “The questions that are made to us are not fair. We do our work attached to justice on behalf of the people to which we belong.”
The Provincial Court of Havana published, last week, six sentences that affected the protesters of July 11 at the corner of Toyo and La Güinera. In them, 128 people were sentenced to 1,916 years in prison in total, after attributing to the majority crimes of sedition, one of the most serious of the Cuban Penal Code. In addition, the Havana judges were particularly harsh, particularly in two of the six files there are many cases of increased sentences with respect to the Prosecutor’s request, something very unusual.
In response to the “cruelty” of the courts, dozens of people, relatives of prisoners of 11J have announced this Monday the creation of the Association of Mothers and Relatives for Amnesty (AMFA) protected by the right to free association recognized in the Constitution of 2019. “Nothing more legal and legitimate than the common defense of those we conceive, love and educate,” says the statement.
The association announces that its objectives are the liberation of all the prisoners of 11J, whom they consider political, with special emphasis on minors. In addition, they seek to promote an amnesty for their relatives, promote peaceful activities that make the population aware of the situation, and seek the support of international organizations so that they show solidarity with their cause. They also announce their intention to participate in workshops or activities on legal and constitutional issues and promote help among affected families.
“We are not constituted as a political organization, but as a civic association that respects the law. Despite the harshness and cruelty against our sons, daughters and relatives, we hope that the Government reconsiders”
“We are not constituted as a political organization, but as a civic association that respects the law. Despite the harshness and cruelty against our sons, daughters and relatives, we hope that the Government will reconsider and return to respect for a Constitution conceived and approved under their authority,” they indicate.
The announcement comes a few days after it was learned that Yudinela Castro Pérez, mother of Rowland Jesús Castillo Castro, an imprisoned protester on July 11, was admitted to a Havana hospital after a suicide attempt. Castro, who is out of danger, has stood out among the most active mothers fighting for the cause of her son, to which the authorities have responded with arrests and repression.
The arrests linked to the protests for the arrests and convictions of the July 11 protesters extend to any citizen. Berta Soler and Ángel Moya were arrested this Sunday, and it is already the ninth in a row, since they announced in January that they were resuming their outings (suspended during the pandemic) to demand the freedom of political prisoners, now focused on those detained by 11J.
Moya himself detailed that the arrest occurred at 10:50 a.m. and he was released at 11:35 p.m. with two fines of 10 and 30 pesos, one for being undocumented and the other for damage, since he wrote on a cell wall “patria and life”.
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