MADRID, Spain.- The Government of the United States demanded this Wednesday the release of political prisoner Lázaro Noel Urgellés Fajardo. The young man finds arrested for his participation in the demonstrations on July 11, 2021, the date on which he had not yet reached the age of majority.
“He was only 17 years old when he joined the 11J protests in the municipality of 10 de Octubre in Havana. The regime sentenced him to 14 years in prison for fighting against the repressors of the demonstration”, recalled the United States Embassy in Cuba through Twitter.
The consular headquarters also referred to five other young people who demonstrated in La Güinera, whose sentences add up to 71 years.
The convictions for these youths are being reviewed on appeal. Therefore, the diplomatic entity urged the Cuban government to “grant the appeal and release Lázaro for the time served together with those other men and all those who are unjustly imprisoned.”
(2/3) Lázaro and five youths from La Guinera, whose sentences add up to 71 years, are being reviewed on appeal. We urge the government to grant the appeal, release Lázaro for time served along with those other men and all who are unjustly imprisoned.
— Embassy of the United States in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) May 18, 2022
The arrest of Lázaro Noel Urgellés occurred a week after the social outbreak of 11J. His parents spent a month without being able to see him.
The same day of his arrest, his father, Yoel Urgellés, went to the police station in vain. Until he hired a lawyer, he did not know that his son appeared in a video with a stone in his hand. Even so, the prosecutor’s request and the treatment continue to seem abusive.
At the beginning of this month, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) also expressed his concern about the situation of minors imprisoned in Cuba after the popular protests.
Through a statement, he said he condemned “strongly the persecution of youth and their leaders.” The OAS mentioned the case of Lázaro Noel Urgelles Fajardo, as well as that of Kendry Miranda Cárdenas, sentenced to 19 years; Rowland Jesús Castillo Castro, sentenced to 18 years; Brandon David Becerra Curbelo, sentenced to 13 years; Emiyoslan Román Rodríguez, sentenced to 7 years; and Jonathan Torres Farrat, who is still awaiting trial for an 8-year sentence.
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