A Cuban was arrested in Cienfuegos for "disparaging the dignity of high officials" in a family group.

The Cienfuegos Prosecutor's Office requested a sentence of two years and six months in prison for José Manuel Barreiro Rouco, accused of "disparaging the dignity of high officials" after sharing degrading images of Miguel Díaz-Canel, Raúl Castro, and Fidel Castro in a private WhatsApp group called "Family."

According to the text of the sentence, shared on Facebook by his nephew Jam Pérez Aguiar, Barreiro was also charged with contempt and currency trafficking, offenses that he described as "fabricated" and which were refuted during his uncle's defense.

The document states that during the period between March 1 and June 18, 2023, Barreiro accumulated numerous images on his mobile phone that incited the desire to end Raúl Castro's life and "the idea that if the population took to the streets, the leaders of the country's armed forces would lose their lives."

The text of the ruling also stated that the accused intended to "propagate them to a larger number of individuals, so that they would reproduce and disseminate them"; however, the prosecution admitted that these images were shared with "the 17 members of the group called 'Family' through the Messenger application."

The unlikely accusation has generated numerous reactions among their relatives on social media, who question the transparency of the Cuban judicial system, accusing it of being an instrument of the regime, distant from impartiality and justice.

Pérez, the nephew of the accused, reported that on June 15, 2023, his uncle was arrested in a spectacular operation "worthy of a high-ranking boss of the international mafia," which included a search.

"Initially accused of belonging to a group dedicated to subverting the constitutional order in Cuba," Pérez stated, who recounted that after proving his uncle's innocence, "he was transferred to the Ariza prison until December 30, when he was placed under house arrest."

At home, Barreiro was informed that he was accused of contempt and currency trafficking, a request he considered to be "plagued by lies, manipulations, and omissions."

Abraham Jesús, another nephew of the accused, refuted several points of the prosecution's charges in a Facebook post. First, he clarified that the private group, which also included some close friends, was not on Messenger, as stated, but on WhatsApp.

"It is true that in the 'family' group we shared content not aligned with the system," he pointed out. However, he clarified that "the group, as its name implies, is strictly 'familial,'" and not intended for subversion, as claimed by the prosecutor's office.

In addition, he pointed out that “nobody is authorized to violate the privacy and intimacy of a family,” adding that “the intimate, private, and strictly family nature of the group is omitted” in the document issued by the prosecutor's office.

Finally, he questioned the regime's accusation against his uncle, stating: "Who was he inciting? His brothers? His teenage nephews? His daughter? His 70-year-old aunt? His cousin?", referring to the absurd accusation that Barreiro was attempting to incite uprisings, murders, and lynchings of government leaders and other officials through a private group.

Daime Ortega González, daughter of the accused, also raised her voice on social media to denounce the crimes that the regime has committed against her father for "expressing what he thinks freely without disrespecting anyone and from a place of reason and calm."

Ortega denounced that last Monday the trial against his father was "finally" held, "after 16 months of deprivation of liberty, seven in prison and nine in house arrest."

Regarding her father and the judicial process of which he has been a victim, the young woman stated: "He has been repressed, abused, and imprisoned without having committed any crime at all, nor violated any norms outlined in the Constitution."

Finally, he denounced: "All of his rights, both civic and constitutional, have been violated, and all types of remedies (bail, habeas corpus, judicial oversight) were denied for seven months without any grounds to keep him in prison."

The case of Barreiro has prompted numerous reflections among Cuban activists and human rights defenders.

Journalist José Raúl Gallego referred to this case on Facebook as a prime example of what a dictatorship is capable of doing.

"There is no need to go to Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, or anywhere else to exemplify what it means to live in flagrant violation of the most basic human rights," Gallego stated.

"And the saddest thing is that this superlative abuse is not an exception, but rather the norm that has been applied for 65 years, during which tens of thousands have been imprisoned, expelled, sanctioned, beaten, or intimidated for a simple comment, a joke, or for saying aloud or half-aloud what many people think," pointed out the journalist, who feels great indignation over the abuse of which Barreiro has been a victim.

News portals, such as CubaNet, have also reported on this case: "At about 53 years old and a barber by profession, José Manuel Barreiro Rouco is a recognized activist in Aguada de Pasajeros, Cienfuegos province."

According to the website, Barreiro was linked to the independent organization Movimiento Ciudadano Reflexión y Conciliación, under the leadership of the opponent Juan Alberto de la Nuez Ramírez, since its founding in 2010.