Adhering fully to legally established norms and respect for due process, including all guarantees stipulated in Cuban legislation, municipal courts of justice have thus far conducted trials of 62 individuals involved in the public disturbances that took place in July, Joselín Sánchez Hidalgo, magistrate of the People's Supreme Court (TSP), reported on August 4, during a press conference.
"The persons placed at the disposal of the courts are those whose actions are considered criminal," stated the judge.
He added that the most common criminal charge filed in these cases is disorderly conduct, involving 53 of those convicted, along with other crimes including resisting arrest, contempt, inciting a crime, and property damage. For acts of this nature, the law provides penalties of up to one year of imprisonment or a fine of 300 quotas, or both.
Judge Sánchez described a series of guarantees and rights established in Cuban legislation, which have all been ensured, such as the rights to provide evidence for both the prosecution and the defense; to appear with a lawyer, if the accused considers this necessary; to express disagreement with members of the court; to testify or to abstain from doing so; the right of "last word;" as well as the option of filing an appeal.
"We can assure you that in the judicial proceedings conducted thus far, strict observance of each of these guarantees has been maintained, in particular the right to present evidence and the obligation to prove the responsibility of the accused in the events for which they are charged," he asserted.
According to the magistrate, one of the issues that has been manipulated is the right to defense. Regarding this question, he explained that, in crimes punishable by up to one year in prison, and which are processed by the municipal courts, the presence of lawyers is established, if the accused attends accompanied by one, at the time of the oral trial, as established in Article 360 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
“This is how the process was conducted in these cases, and the court provided all the facilities needed to ensure that defendants who had the intention of appointing a lawyer were guaranteed this right," he emphasized.
Judge Sánchez reported that, of those tried thus far, 22 appeared at the oral trial assisted by lawyers; of the total number of defendants, one was acquitted, and 45 have filed appeals and, of these, 40 have appointed a lawyer.
He additionally noted that alternative sanctions, including probation, were revoked for 21 defendants who failed to comply with the obligations established by law for these sentencing options.
In these cases, those involved also have the right to file an appeal challenging the court's decision.
The magistrate added that the Supreme People's Court has received six complaints, related to these cases, regarding the right to defense and disagreement with the sentence imposed. Four of these have been investigated. A response has been communicated in two cases and the other two are in progress.
Judge Sánchez reiterated that these matters, which fall under the jurisdiction of the municipal courts, are settled procedurally, according to our laws, which are more flexible and expeditious, but not exempt from compliance with all due process guarantees. In some cases, he said, the time scheduled for a trial was modified, to allow for the assistance of lawyers.
Additionally, he clarified, in these are proceedings, legal assistance to file an appeal is not required, since convicted persons themselves may, by means of a simple written document, indicate their disagreement with the ruling and this is sufficient to send the proceedings to a higher court.
Dixán Fuentes Guzmán, Attention to Citizens Directorate’s Chief Attorney, devoted the first minutes of his appearance to reviewing the rights and guarantees of the people enshrined in the Constitution, and the role of the Attorney General of the Republic’s Office in this regard.
He recalled Article 156, according to which "the Attorney General's Office of the Republic (FGR) is the state organ with the fundamental mission of controlling criminal investigations and the exercise of public criminal action on behalf of the state, as well as ensuring strict compliance with the Constitution, the laws and other legal provisions for state bodies, entities and citizens."
He also mentioned Article 61, by virtue of which "individuals have the right to address complaints and petitions to authorities, who are obliged to process these and provide timely, pertinent and substantiated responses within the time period and according to the procedure established by law."
This principle, Fuentes added, serves as a guarantee for all those who file a complaint or claim before this body, including issues related to the recent disturbances.
Mandatory compliance with the Constitution for all is established in Article 7; while Article 10 indicates, "State bodies, their directors, officers and employees are obliged to respect, assist and respond to the people, maintain close ties with them and submit to their control, in the forms established in the Constitution and the law."
Under these precepts that protect, on the one hand, the rights of the people and, on the other, establish the responsibility of state institutions to abide by them, the Attorney General’s Office assisted more than 47,000 Cubans, between January and June this year, and has received more than 9,000 complaints from the population, he reported.
Between July 11 and August 3, however, following the destabilizing events, this body has attended 215 individuals, in 12 provinces and the Isle of Youth special municipality, and received 47 complaints through the ten channels prosecutors’ offices maintain, including those made in person, via documents delivered personally or by e-mail, which statistically disproves the campaigns alleging disproportionate violations of the law and lists of alleged missing persons.
Fuentes clarified that all claims were addressed, regardless of the degree of affinity or familiarity with the person or persons involved.
Among the principal issues raised in complaints were, initially, lack of knowledge of a detained person’s location; disagreement with the detention site or the detention itself; requests for information on the terms of detention and the rights of the accused; and disagreement with the charges filed against the defendant.
He also mentioned less common complaints about the actions of law enforcement officers at the time of arrest, disagreement with precautionary measures, the confiscation of property, as well the sanctions imposed or concerns about processes involving minors.
Of the 47 complaints, Fuentes emphasized, the investigation of 12 has already been concluded and a response provided to the claimant, and thus far no violations of the law have been detected. Investigations are however continuing, since the law establishes a period of up to 60 days for this, although every effort is made to use only the absolutely necessary time.
Regarding complaints of excessive force on the part of law enforcement officers, in particular, he reported, "They have not been common among complaints filed."
He noted that criminal law in Cuba establishes that defendants as young as16 years of age may be tried as adults, but in the case of minors under 18, the law provides for specific procedures to protect those involved.
Regarding the work of the Attorney General’s Office in supervising investigations in criminal proceedings related to the July disturbances, Fuentes commented that, as is customary evaluation of the facts continues, to identify the individual participation of each defendant and what material evidence exists, along with the observance of all guarantees and rights of the accused, considered key to due process.
He added that administrative sanctions have been imposed in some cases, precautionary measures of provisional imprisonment have been modified, and this measure has been maintained in the most serious cases.
Other citizens, following investigation, have been released without charges, while processes related to the most serious crimes continue.
