MADRID, Spain.- The Government of the United States denounced this Sunday the sentence imposed by the Cuban dictatorship on the Lady in White Tania Echevarría Menéndez for her participation in the popular protests that took place on the island on July 11 and 12, 2021.
“The Cuban regime has just sentenced Tania Echevarría to 6 years for demonstrating on 11J,” said the United States Embassy in Havana through Twitter.
“Like many peaceful protesters, Tania was prosecuted for being ‘there’ in violation of her freedom of assembly and expression,” the consular headquarters said.
Along with the hashtag #PresosPorQué (Jailed For What, in English), corresponding to the campaign that demands the release of Cuban political prisoners, the entity called for the “immediate release” of the opponent.
regimen #Cuba just sentenced @damasdBlanco #TaniaEchevarria to 6 years for manifesting the #11J. Like many peaceful protesters, Tania was prosecuted for being “there” in violation of her freedom of assembly and expression. We ask for her immediate release. #PrisonersWhy
— Embassy of the United States in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) April 17, 2022
Accused together with her husband, the activist Leylandis Puentes Vargas, a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy, of the alleged crimes of public disorder and contempt, the tax petitions for both were announced in October 2021. In January of the year in progress the sentences to 6 years of deprivation of freedom were revealed.
This April 14, after the Municipal Popular Court of Colón in Matanzas rejected her appeal filed last March, Tania Echevarría was taken to prison.
After her arrest, Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White, stated from her Facebook account: “Tania is a brave warrior who does not change, nor does she sell her convictions for anything. Tanya is not alone.
In addition to Echevarría, the Cuban government has condemned the Ladies in White for 11J Aymara Nieto Munoz (five years and four months of deprivation of liberty), Saylí Navarro (8 years of deprivation of liberty) and Sissi Abascal (6 years of imprisonment)
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
