A Cuban nurse faces charges of aggravated contempt, according to the government's accusation, after sharing a meme involving President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Aroni Yanko García Valdés, who was arrested on April 3, is being accused by authorities of "aggravated disobedience" to the figure of the Cuban leader.
"He has been in La Pendiente prison for more than four months. I went to the law office to inquire about his case, and the lawyer informed me that, just at that moment, an email had arrived stating that he will be tried on August 19," explained Yunisley Suárez Rodríguez, his wife, to Martí Noticias.
The 31-year-old Cuban was detained after responding to a police summons at the 3rd Unit of that agency in Santa Clara, from where he was transferred to the Unit for Crimes against State Security and subsequently placed in provisional detention at the "La Pendiente" prison in the area.
The aggravated contempt in Cuba is a crime that involves actions perceived as a disrespect towards figures of authority and can result in severe legal sanctions, which may be greater if the act is committed against the President, the Vice President of the country, the President of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and members of the Council of State or the Council of Ministers, among others.
The prosecutor requests the highest sentence provided for that crime for García Valdés: three years of imprisonment, notes Martí Noticias.
Less than a week before the trial is set to take place, the detainee is still unaware of the date of this event. Even the lawyer, Yordania Figueroa, has not delivered the Prosecutor's Petition to the family or to the defendant.
García Valdés is the father of three children, and at the time of his arrest, he was working at the Capitán Roberto Fleites polyclinic, better known as Malezas among the residents of Santa Clara.
His wife has not been exempt from the threats of the regime. "I am being threatened that I cannot publish, I cannot denounce his situation. He is the provider for my household," she stated.
During her husband's arrest, she was detained for approximately five hours and was released with a warning that she could be prosecuted criminally.
"The people from State Security have a horrible repression here in Santa Clara, even with the lawyer!" he pointed out.
Recently, the Cuban government announced the trial of young influencer Sulmira Martínez Pérez, known on social media as Salem, for August 12, who was imprisoned in January 2023 for her postings on Facebook.
However, in a practice that dishonors the agreements established between them and that has become common in the Cuban judicial system, they suspended the session until the month of September.
In his case, the prosecutor's request is for 10 years, and he is accused of inciting Cubans to protest against the Díaz-Canel regime through a series of Facebook posts, in which he called for the repetition of the peaceful demonstrations of July 11, 2021.
Also, opposition members José Antonio Pompa López and Lázaro Mendoza García were sent to prison after being held for months at Villa Marista, the headquarters of State Security in Havana, accused of the crime of "propaganda against the constitutional order."
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