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The former judge from Villa Clara, Melody González, currently detained at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, requested the release of the four young people she sentenced for alleged sabotage in a judicial process that, according to her statements, was interfered with by the Provincial Court and State Security of the Cuban regime.
In an exclusive interview granted in June to Diario de Cuba from the place of detention, González stated that the young men Andy Gabriel González Fuentes, Adain Barreiro Pérez, Eddy Daniel Rodríguez Milián, and Luis Ernesto Medina Pedraza did not receive a fair trial.
According to Gonzalez, the preliminary investigations were insufficient, and during the trial, it was not allowed to thoroughly inquire or properly consider the evidence presented by the defense.
I am not saying this just to get by or to look good, I firmly believe that they should be free and I have many reasons to support it. They did not have the due process that is so much talked about in the Cuban Constitution and laws,” stated the person who arrived in the United States with a Humanitarian Parole, but US authorities denied him entry for being on a list of repressors.
"If they are innocent or guilty, only God and they know", he commented in the interview with the press outlet. "But the process against them was not fair. Despite the demonstrations against me, I firmly believe they deserve to be free. They have suffered enough."
The former judge also revealed the constant pressure exerted by the Communist Party of Cuba on the judicial system, describing how judges' decisions are manipulated and how they are required to issue sanctions without independence or real authority.
In this sense, González now aligns with the request of the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, which demands the release or acquittal of the young people due to the lack of procedural guarantees in this case.
Since her detention in the United States, Melody González continues to advocate for a more equitable and transparent justice in Cuba.
González signed prison sentences for the young people under 30 years old who on November 18, 2022, threw Molotov cocktails at the houses of Police chiefs and regime officials in the municipality of Encrucijada.
He imposed four years in prison on Andy Gabriel González Fuentes, Eddy Daniel Rodríguez Pérez, and Luis Ernesto Medina Pedraza, while a fourth accused, Adain Barreiro Pérez, was sentenced to three years in prison. All of them were convicted of the crime of assault.
Now she is applying for political asylum, but previously she stated that she cannot find a lawyer to represent her in the process.
When I arrived in this country, I thought I had arrived at freedom and that I could shout out everything I have endured and suffered. I never thought they would handcuff me and treat me like a vile criminal. The first days of my detention were terrible. I was subjected to an oppression that I never allowed during my 18 years of profession for it to be done to any detainee in my presence," she recounted to Diario de Cuba.
"It has been the most humiliating experience I have ever lived through," he emphasized.
On June 12th, Melody González Pedraza attended her first asylum hearing in the United States.
The former judge has a hearing scheduled with the judge on July 31st. She has no hopes of being released, as she has not been informed of the charges she faces nor has she been able to submit the asylum documents.
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