The Cuban regime imposed harsh prison sentences on six young participants in the popular protest that took place in the town of Caimanera, Guantanamo, on May 6, 2023.
They were sentenced to between 8 and 2 years in prison for peacefully protesting, confirmed their relatives to the outlet based in South Florida Martí Noticias.
The Municipal People's Court of Niceto Pérez sentenced Daniel Álvarez González to eight years in prison, one year less than the prosecution had requested, for charges of incitement to commit crimes and public disorders.
Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez and Freddy Sarquis González received seven and five years of imprisonment, respectively, for the same crimes.
On his part, Rodolfo Álvarez González was sentenced to four years in prison for public disorders, while Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez received a two-year prison sentence for the crime of assault.
Yandri Pelier Matos was acquitted after the defense witnesses' testimonies proved his non-involvement in the protest.
Victoria Martínez Valdivia, mother of Alarcón Martínez and Correa Martínez, reported that her sons received an official summons to pick up the verdict this Tuesday.
The document, which Martí Noticias had access to, is dated July 9th.
Martínez Valdivia expressed that the relatives were not expecting such severe sentences, especially after the authorities had decided to keep four of the defendants out of prison for almost a year.
In less than five minutes, they removed the young men handcuffed like animals, pushed them towards the vehicle. They did not allow me to give my son Felipe Octavio a kiss or give him a piece of bread, even though he hadn't had breakfast," the mother recounted.
Correa Martínez, who suffers from a mental disability, was released after being detained for 25 days and had been under house arrest awaiting the sentence.
Martínez Valdivia added that the authorities did not offer explanations, they only provided copies of the sentence and said that they could appeal the court's decision within a period of 10 business days.
The mother reported that the trial was "false" as the witness statements were not recorded in the document.
On Saturday, May 6, a massive protest took place in Caimanera, near the Guantanamo Naval Base, as dozens of people took to the streets shouting "Freedom," marching through the town to demand an end to shortages and power outages.
The protesters were chanting "Freedom", "Homeland and Life", and "Long live human rights", among other slogans.
The protest was violently suppressed by special forces troops from the Army.
When not even 24 hours had passed since the outbreak, independent media outlets and civil society organizations in Cuba denounced the forced disappearance of five of the protesters and the digital blackout that left the entire country without Internet for more than an hour.
The following day, the Cuban regime stated that the "disturbances" were caused by "drunken" men.
Last April, the trial was suspended "until further notice" and it was reported that the Guantánamo Prosecutor's Office had requested between 4 and 9 years of imprisonment for the protesters.
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