Cuban Court Prosecutes 17 Other July 11 Protesters

A court in the Cuban province of Matanzas began this Tuesday to prosecute 17 detainees during the unprecedented protests of July 11, with requests for sentences of up to nine years, the human rights defense group Justicia 11J reported.

“This morning, the trial of 17 people from (the city of) Cárdenas began in Matanzas for the alleged crimes of public disorder, contempt and attack,” the group reported on its Facebook page.

Among the defendants is Lazara Karenia González, a 28-year-old woman whose arrest was recorded in a video that circulated on social media after July 11 and which shows how she is forcefully subjected by the police.

The Cuban government reported on January 25 that 790 people, including 55 under the age of 18, were indicted for the July demonstrations. And another 172 had been convicted so far.

At the cry of “We are hungry” and “Freedom”, thousands of people took to the streets on July 11 and 12, 2021, in nearly 50 cities on the island, with one death and dozens injured.

Justice 11J has so far registered 1,442 detainees, of whom 756 remain in prison. Among the protesters in prison, 69 are young people who are between 12 and 20 years old.

According to this organization, 518 persons have been tried, some accused of the crime of sedition, with requests for sentences of more than 25 years and so far 199 have received sentences.

LP/DGA