Cuban prosecutors say 790 people charged for July protests

HAVANA (AP) — Some 790 individuals who participated in anti-government protests in Cuba final 12 months face prosecution for sedition, violent assaults, public dysfunction, theft and different crimes, the lawyer normal’s workplace stated Tuesday.

The announcement was the primary from prosecutors since August, a month after hundreds of Cubans protested in Havana and different cities over grievances together with energy blackouts, financial hardship and the tightly managed political system. The demonstrations have been the largest and most unruly in a long time in a nation the place freedom of meeting is closely restricted.

A lot of the suspects stay in jail pending the result of the mass trials. Some may face jail sentences of as much as 30 years in jail if convicted. The lawyer normal’s workplace stated sedition costs associated ″to the extent of violence demonstrated,″ noting that some protesters threw stones at hospitals, gasoline stations and different amenities, and in addition looted.

Human rights teams say the crackdown reveals how Cuba’s judicial system is routinely used to snuff out dissent. Cuba, in flip, alleges U.S.-based opposition teams are attempting to instigate unrest by way of social media campaigns.

Thus far, Cuban courts have heard circumstances involving 710 individuals concerned within the protests on July 11-12, and 172 have been convicted and sentenced, based on the lawyer normal’s workplace. About half of the 55 minors concerned within the protests are in detention, it stated. Cubans could be prosecuted as adults from the age of 16.

Justicia 11J, a human rights group that displays the circumstances and tries to contact the households, had reported 1,300 arrests.

After the protests, Cuban leaders acknowledged some complaints have been justified and stated they might search to alleviate misery by way of social and financial packages. The federal government blames a U.S. financial embargo, quite than its state-centered insurance policies, for its issues.