The verdicts recently handed down by the Cuban justice system against those who spontaneously protested during the July 2021 events are “ disproportionate”, said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, in a statement on Wednesday 30 March (see EUROPE 12772/7).
Some of the verdicts of the Cuban Supreme Court can carry sentences of up to 30 years imprisonment, even though some of those tried were minors at the time of the offence.
“Even though the right to demonstrate is guaranteed in the Cuban Constitution, this use of judicial proceedings and such verdicts serve to deny Cuban citizens the right to express their views peacefully”, Mr Borrell said on behalf of the EU.
The High Representative calls on the Cuban authorities to allow foreign diplomats to attend trials that are still ongoing and that do not guarantee an impartial defence of the accused. All those arrested for peacefully exercising their right to free expression should be released, he added, saying that the protesters’ demands against water and medicine shortages were legitimate. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)