The mass trials against July 11 protesters continue this week in Cuba despite the outcry of family members, local activists and international organizations, as the communist government has signaled it won’t budge on its intention to snuff other attempts at a popular rebellion.
At least 45 protesters will be tried this week in Havana and nearby Mayabeque province, according to information verified by the activist group Justicia 11J. They have been charged with several crimes, including causing “public disorder,” resisting the police, assault and disrespecting the flag. Some, including nine young Cubans under 20, are accused of inciting sedition, a crime against the government that is punished with decades-long sentences.
Sentences are still pending for 66 protesters tried last week and others who went to trial in December. Government judges already sentenced five protesters, including one with a mental disability, to spending 15 to 30 years in prison. The harsh sentences are meant to send the message that the government will not tolerate the kind of public demonstrations that erupted around the island on Jully 11, activists say.
