The Cuban activist Sulmira Martínez Pérez, 22 years old, will face trial this Monday, September 23, after being detained for more than a year and a half.
The young woman was arrested on January 10, 2023, after calling for a day of protests similar to that of July 11, 2021 (11J) via Facebook. Since then, she has been in provisional detention at Villa Marista, the State Security headquarters, and at the women's prison in El Guatao.
Martínez's trial, initially scheduled for August 12, was canceled at the last moment. Authorities informed his mother, Norma Pérez, that the new trial date would be this Monday.
However, the family fears that the process will be suspended again because Sulmira's lawyer is hospitalized with pneumonia, as activist Marcel Valdés stated on his social media. Despite the uncertainty, the young woman's mother has decided to appear in court.
Valdés, who has reported on Martínez's situation in previous publications, criticized the actions of the Cuban regime and revealed that authorities suggested the family seek a public defender.
For her part, the activist and regime critic, Anamely Ramos, also spoke out about the case and denounced the severity of the charges against Martínez. “One of the worst crimes of the Cuban regime is asking for 10 years of imprisonment for a young woman over a few posts on Facebook,” she noted.
The Prosecutor's Office is requesting a nine-year prison sentence for Sulmira for crimes against the constitutional order and an additional two years for contempt, totaling 10 years of deprivation of liberty. This case adds to the list of judicial processes criticized for their political and repressive nature against dissenting voices in Cuba.
Kidnapped in the infamous State Security detention center and subjected to interrogations and pressures, the 21-year-old appeared on April 13, 2023, on the Razones de Cuba program of the official Cuban television, in a shameful self-incrimination video that highlighted the level of intimidation and helplessness she is experiencing.
"When they interviewed her, they gave her a sheet, a paper for her to read everything, everything, everything she had to say. They even deceived her. They told her that if she said all that, they would let her go... and they didn't let her go," her mother recounted later.
Determined to spread the idea that Sulmira was financed by "foreign agents" to "overthrow the revolutionary system," the presenter and spokesperson for the regime, Humberto López, showcased the young woman on his program.
"I decided to open an account against the revolutionary process under the name Salem Cuba Censura. I created it because I needed the money," said the young woman, whose words, facial expressions, and body language revealed the coercion she was subjected to during her supposed self-incrimination.
The Salem profile from Cuba mainly shared memes that, with a critical and humorous tone, addressed aspects of Cuban reality and satirized the country's leaders.
However, in mid-August 2023, the mother of the young woman claimed that the officers of the Cuban political police were threatening her daughter during the interrogations and accusing her of receiving money from abroad.
"The lawyer tells me that the case is very tough, that he is going to try to see if they can give him a lesser sentence because for that crime you can get four to ten years; he is going to try to get a lesser sentence," the woman commented in an interview with Valdés.
She also assured that her daughter “is strong and wants everything to be reported” and that in El Guatao she finds protection among the other political prisoners. “Salem is the youngest of all, and they have grown fond of her,” Norma told independent journalist Mónica Baró.
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