Havana Cuba. — The Cuban regime ratified the sentence of four years in prison for the young man from Matanzas, Lester Miguel Díaz Acevedo, for having thrown water at a group of people from the roof of his house during one of the protests of the July 11, 2021 (J11).
In February of this year, the Cuban authorities sentenced Díaz Acevedo to four years in prison for the alleged crimes of “public disorder” and “sexual outrage,” the latter under the argument of having touched his genitals that day in front of people from different backgrounds. sexes and ages, according to the tax petition document.
“I did not make any public disorder because I was on the plate (ceiling) of my house. I did not go to the demonstration. I did not walk, I did not do vandalism and I never touched my parts as they say. That was not the case,” the interviewee assured by telephone to CubaNet.
On May 13, after an appeal imposed by Díaz Acevedo against the initial sentence, a court in Matanzas province ratified the four-year prison sentence imposed in February for throwing two buckets of water at regime sympathizers. The incident took place in the La Marina neighborhood, in the Matanzas municipality, in the province of the same name.
According to the account of the interviewee, the prosecution used as witnesses two State Security officers who were with other sympathizers of the regime who were confronting the protesters.
“During the investigation, he (officer) told the case instructor in charge of the investigation that I had soaked him (in water) and after two days, trying to show off in front of the bosses, he told me in the instruction room ´you what You saved yourself because a drop of water did not fall on me, if not I threw you from the plate down,'” the young man denounced.
“That was a drawn trial. Those people already know what they are going to throw (sentence). Supposedly it was a review of the case, but for pleasure when they (the judges) come in to dictate the ruling, they come out immediately and say that there are no changes in the sentence,” he specified.
Next June 1, Díaz Acevedo must appear in court to collect the sentence of the appeal in addition to the information, when and where he must appear to begin serving his sanction according to the location given by the court. Ministry of the Interior (MININT).
The manifestation
“On July 11 (2021) I was watching the final of the European Championship (soccer). Then you feel the immense shouting, where there are people shouting Homeland and Life, others Homeland or Death, all mixed up, everyone together. That looked like a conga. There was no one dressed as a police officer and since it had created a horrible bad atmosphere, then I, as a religious, because I am a Babalawo, threw the two buckets of water to refresh the environment and that was it, “he explained.
This was enough for the authorities to summon him on July 19 to supposedly ask him some questions.
“They didn’t ask me any questions. Simply put, they left me behind bars because they say I threw water at the revolutionaries.”
According to the testimony of Díaz Acevedo, after eleven days of confinement in a State Security center, he was transferred to the Combinado del Sur prison, in Matanzas province, where he resides. There he stayed for a period of 28 days. Later, his lawyer requested a change of measure that allowed him to await the hearing of the oral trial in freedom.
“After that they called me about four times to ask me what I was doing and (tell me) to behave,” he snapped.
Finally, the young man declared to CubaNet that he had decided to declare himself an opponent of the Cuban regime as a result of the “injustice” committed in his case and because of the arbitrariness carried out in due process.
“The decision is simple. These people (regime) have injected me with a syringe of hatred for all the lies and atrocities that I experienced in that trial. I could see that here neither the lawyers have a voice nor a vote to defend anything (…). That is why, seeing all the injustices, the lack of respect, the lack of ethics, the nefarious actions that these people committed, they have definitely made me disillusioned with this government.”
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