(EFE)
According to sentence number 13 of 2023, of the Criminal Chamber of the Central Territorial Military Court, to which EFE has been able to access, the convicts – between the ages of 19 and 63 – were mostly found guilty of the crimes of public disorder. and contempt, although there were also cases of sabotage and robbery with force in things.
Of the eight convicted, seven received prison sentences of between two and nine years in prison, while the remaining defendant was sentenced to “two years of correctional work with internment as an alternative to imprisonment, to be served in an establishment penitentiary”.
The convicted must financially compensate for the damages that the sentence considers proven.
The court also decided to impose as an “accessory sanction” the “deprivation of rights” equal to the sentence. While serving the sentence and until they pay the “civil liability” imposed, they will not be able to request a passport or leave the national territory.
It also affirms that the protest, in which insults were shouted against Miguel Díaz-Canel and the motto “Patria y vida” was sung, brought together between 600 and 700 people.
The ruling indicates that Lieutenant Colonel Wuilder Pérez Gamboa acted as judge in this case and, as prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Comas Llanes.
The sentence considers it proven that several of the convicted started a protest in Covadonga as a result of a blackout on the night of July 30, 2022, in weeks with prolonged and frequent blackouts throughout Cuba, sometimes for more than twelve hours a day.
He also affirms that the protest, in which insults were shouted against Miguel Díaz-Canel and the motto “Patria y vida” was sung, brought together between 600 and 700 people. The march culminated in the throwing of several blunt objects against a state store that sold hard currency and, when the windows and the access door were broken, in the looting of the establishment.
The ruling considers it proven that the looting cost the state company CIMEX – part of the Gaesa business conglomerate, of the Revolutionary Armed Forces – a total of 80,128.91 Cuban pesos (667 dollars at the official commercial exchange rate, but about 385 in the informal market ).
In addition to the material damage, the sentence details a long list with dozens of stolen goods, from a toaster oven for 5,160 pesos to two packs of chewing gum for 22.5 pesos.
The march culminated in the throwing of several blunt objects against a state store that sold hard currency and, when the windows and the access door were broken, in looting.
The blackouts between July and October 2022 generated several dozen minor protests in Cuba, proving to be one of the most sensitive elements for the population.
In fact, blackouts were also among the economic and political causes behind the demonstrations on July 11, 2021, the largest anti-government protests in the country in decades.
Cuba is going through a deep economic crisis with shortages of basic products (food, medicine and fuel), growing inflation, dollarization of the economy, frequent blackouts and an unprecedented mass exodus.
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