Iginio takes the stand, dressed in his blue police uniform. He is young, of small stature, we could say, but when he speaks, he does so with confidence, without hesitation.
It is the second day of the oral trial involving 33 defendants who participated in the disturbances that occurred last July 11 in the vicinity of Toyo, in the Havana, and both the prosecution and the defense have had the opportunity to present testimony they consider necessary to the case.
-Were you present during the events which took place at the corner of Toyo?
-Yes, it was around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, more or less.
-How did you arrive there?
-In a patrol car... I was accompanied by my driver, Yodianys Viera Ávila.
-Do you remember where you left the vehicle parked?
-Right on the corner of Toyo and 10 de Octubre.
-Where did you go after you parked the vehicle?
-Straight ahead, since the other car there, a Hyundai, was being battered, rocks thrown at it, and we went to help.
-Were there other officers around you?
-No. The car’s two officers were inside... that's why I approached, trying to get the people there to move away, so they could get out of the car and come with us.
-While you were carrying out this action, were you hit by rocks?
-Yes, one hit me in the stomach and another in the ankle.
After helping his fellow officers, Iginio could not get back to patrol car no.162. "The sky was clouded with rocks," he says, which began to fall on them. At that moment, he reports, he felt fear.
As he struggled to get out of the area, out of the corner of his eye he could see persons opening the patrol car’s doors, and taking items inside. "And right then,” he says, ”about five of them, grabbed the car by the side and turned it over."
Among the belongings that were stolen were the car's radio and loud speaker, the driver's cell phone and 8,000 pesos the other officer had saved from his salary to buy a telephone.
His name is Iginio Castellano Cala, and at 20 years of age is a National Revolutionary Police patrol car chief officer.
***
Jorge Luis Gael Zamora, sector chief of La Güinera district was also present when the disturbance began in Toyo.
He testifies, that he was at the station and was told to move toward the Café Colón, in La Víbora, with approximately 15 other officers who formed a kind of human cordon to block a small group coming from Mantilla, right up the street, and to prevent them from continuing toward 10 de Octubre.
"Well, that was impossible,” he reported, “They threw rocks at us and we were separated. They were aggressive, throwing rocks and sticks, shouting... we tried to talk to them, to persuade them, but there was no way.”
Then we were directed to go to Toyo, he testifies, "When I arrived, I saw how they had turned the patrol car over and two citizens took a big container, a garbage container, threw it on the car, and then climbed on top.
"And along with the rocks, they yelled a bit of everything at us. I even heard them say: We're going to kill all the f… policemen... them!”
Ileana María Forcades Díaz, president of the Cerro Municipal Assembly of People’s Power, also witnessed just how "peaceful" the aggressive protesters were.
We were right at the corner of Toyo, in front of the bakery, trying to calm the situation, attempting to start a conversation, but we couldn’t, she states. They would not listen to reason and began to throw rocks, bottles and sticks at us.
Her son, who was with her, was hit in the back by a rock.
With all this happening, we were forced leave and returned later to get the Assembly's car, a red Lada, which we had driven to get there earlier. It had been overturned and all its accessories stolen, she reports.
Jorge Luis and Ileana María may not know each other, maybe they do, but in any case, the truth is that both witnessed individuals committing actions which not only disturbed the peace of citizens, but also injured and endangered the lives of several people, in addition to severely damaging state vehicles and other property.
Desiderio Sánchez Hernández, head of the 10 de Octubre Police Council, tells the court what he experienced that day. He recalls that with him were about 30 other persons.
One of the officers accompanying him, he reports, was hit by several rocks around his feet. He suffered from poor blood circulation and recently died as a result of a thrombosis, Sánchez states.
-He is asked: Were you armed that day?
-No, he answered.
***
Beginning the trial’s oral arguments, the Attorney General's Office presented a summary of the accusations. Three defendants, the report indicated, on July 11, 2021, began a demonstration around the Mantilla movie theater, located in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, with the objective of marching to the Capitol; and, as they advanced, more people joined in, including the other defendants.
We could again relate the facts. We could talk about the overturned patrol cars, the offensive phrases shouted at authorities, the rude insults of the country’s leaders, the aggression, the injured citizens, but for some - those who insist on seeing a different Cuba - this awful story will remain false, since for them, what took place was a peaceful demonstration, and anything else, in good Cuban, is just a story.
But what happens when a participant in the events talks about the vandalism, about the violence that took place, and assures you, moreover, that he has never been mistreated? Here is one example:
-What happened on July 11 and 12?
-A senseless demonstration, because in the end we are in a socialist country, and I understand that there was no need for so much aggressiveness, and even less in a country like ours... There was vandalism, disorder, everything, states Ricardo Duque Solis, one of the 33 defendants in this trial.
-The opinion that you, the accused, were mistreated has been circulated on social media. Is this true?
-Well, I feel good and grateful for the treatment I have received, both in the Valle Grande prison, where I was at the beginning, and now in the Combinado del Este. I have a heart condition, and they have taken good care of me.
-Have you had the opportunity to communicate with your lawyer?
-Yes, on three occasions I have been able to meet with him, with no problem; I have no complaints in that sense... I made a mistake participating in the demonstration, which was not my intention, but I got carried away and I am very sorry about everything that happened. Thanks to this Revolution I am a Hygiene and Epidemiology state inspector and would like, if I have the opportunity, to return to my profession, which is protecting the people’s health.
-So you don't agree with the violence and vandalism that occurred that day?
-Of course not. That was nonsense, senseless, who is going to destroy this country?
Likewise, 18-year-old Rowland Jesús Castillo Castro acknowledges his participation in the events and says he is remorseful. "I can't say what happened to me, I am not a violent person." He emphasizes that his parents have accompanied him throughout the process, and that he has had regular access to his lawyer.
"I understand very well what I did and that I must comply with the law," he states, adding that he would like to have another opportunity to resume his studies and training as an athlete, since, before the July 11 events, he practiced wrestling.
Yunaiky de la Caridad Linares Rodríguez also tells us about what happened that day. "I went out on a march that was supposed to be peaceful, but suddenly everything became aggressive and they started throwing rocks, shouting, and I let myself get carried away."
The marches were not peaceful, he states, but that was not my goal. "We should never have let it come to that, because violence generates more violence. I hope that nothing similar ever happens again, and I advise young people not to make a mistake like this that weighs so heavily on us today."
"Those events were crazy, many were taken in by the crowd factor, not thinking about the consequences they and their families would face. I tell my brother that he should never have gotten involved in this," says Vicente Borges Wilson, who is attending the trial as a family member.
"I think that in order to assert our rights, or organize a demonstration, everything must be peaceful. This was not a political act, it was vandalism; they attacked childcare centers, assaulted people, robbed stores... this has nothing to do with any given policy, or political changes in the country, this is vandalism," he emphasizes.
I have gone to see him several times in the penitentiary, he tells us. "We have talked and he always says that the treatment is good. I’ve asked him about the food, and he tells me: It’s not great, but they give us enough."
***
These are mock trials, the rights of the accused have not been respected; the lawyers are accepting everything the Attorney General says, and have not taken the defense seriously; the sentences have been unjust; children and minors under 16 are being sent to prison... these and more are among the lies being repeated over and again on social networks, in a vain attempt to make them credible.
Theirs is very particular version of the facts that, like a sand castle, crumbles by itself. The testimony of the accused and witnesses should be enough to determine the truth, while Cuban law and its application ensure that due process is respected.
In this regard, it is worth noting that Cuba’s new Constitution reinforced the responsibilities inherent to the administration of justice, further strengthening its stipulations with a procedural reform, in effect since January this year.
Included among the guarantees established in the Constitution’s Article 95, to ensure due process in criminal proceedings, are:
-Detention by competent authorities only and for the legally established time period.
-Access to legal assistance from the beginning of the process.
-Presumption of innocence until the final verdict.
-Respect for the dignity and physical, psychological and moral integrity of defendants, who may not be subjected to violence and coercion to force them to testify.
-Neither the accused, a spouse, common law partner, or relative are obliged to testify.
-Defendants must be informed of the charges filed against them.
-Trials are conducted by a legally pre-established court.
-Detainees are provided the means to communicate with family members or relatives, immediately following their arrest.
-Victims are protected in the exercise of their rights.
Another example of how Cuban law ensures due process is that defendants who, for certain reasons, are not been able to hire a lawyer of their own choice, the court has appoints a public defender to assume their defense, to guarantee the right to legal assistance throughout the judicial process.
One of the court-appointed lawyers involved in these cases is Sergio Hernández Ramos, who reports having access to all the prosecution’s evidence, to study it, and has been able to meet with his clients and develop a defense strategy.
"We have conducted our work without any kind of pressure or obstacle, without anyone telling us what to do or say."
He notes that, from the very beginning of these prosecutions, negative opinions about the defense lawyers has been disseminated by foreign media and on social networks, and our performance as professionals has been questioned, and none of this is true.
"Someone may say otherwise, but the truth is that we have been able to present in our defenses all the evidence, all the arguments we want, and these have taken into consideration by the members of the court," Hernández states.
The defendants, he adds, have been able to present as much testimony as they wanted, including speaking in favor of, or in opposition to, the Cuban political and social system. No one has been prevented from testifying.
Likewise, Rainer Rosales Escobar, who also works as a public defender, clarifies that criminal responsibility in Cuban legislation begins at the age of 16, although in the case of defendants between the ages of 16 and 18, our laws provide differentiated treatment throughout the process.
For example, Article 17 of the Penal Code stipulates that in these cases the sentence may be reduced up to one third of the maximum, while Instruction 175 of 2004 from the People's Supreme Court indicates to judges that differentiated treatment must be afforded these young defendants, including the option of not imposing prison sentences, or severe penalties that could interfere with their reintegration into society.
***
"Good morning, you appear as a witness and you are obliged to tell the truth in everything you are going to be asked here, otherwise you may incur in the crime of perjury," announces the presiding judge.
-What is your name?
-Ernesto Paniagua Fernández.
-Do you know any of the defendants?
-Yes, Yusuan.
-Do you have any relationship of friendship, enmity or kinship with him?
-Well, I saw him born, I am his neighbor....
The defense begins the questioning and thus defense lawyers successively call witnesses they consider pertinent to demonstrating the social and moral conduct of the defendants. Such is the case of Nubia Mendoza Montero, who agrees to talk to the press after making her statement.
"As a teacher and the Cuban I am, shaped in this society, to which I am so grateful, I believe there is no reason for things to have come to this, to what happened that day; besides, we are not going to think that because of what happened, this country is going to take a different path, no way, our direction was set on January 1, 1959."
Nubia is also the president of a neighborhood Committee for the Defense of the Revolution and, as a witness for the defense, came to talk about Jorge and his behavior in the neighborhood. She defines him as a good young man, a hard worker. "I've known him for ten years and he has never had any problem; he has never gotten in trouble. He is well liked in the community. What led him to do this behavior? I really don't know."
***
Everyone has had the opportunity to speak, to testify before the court, to express their views, both defendants and witnesses. No one has been coerced.
It is the last day of the trial, and both the prosecution and the defense present their final oral arguments before the court, their view of what they consider evident. The defendants can also make use of the right to the last word, or waive this; it is their decision, respected at all times.
Subsequently, the judges present during the debate must agree on the verdict and the sentence. And yes, the responsibility on their shoulders is great. It will never be easy to decide on the freedom of another person, but they do so with full knowledge of judicial practice, with neither rights or guarantees violated, and conscious of their duty to convict those persons who the evidence has clearly identified as responsible for the crimes with which they were charged and who, moreover, have acknowledged their participation in the events.
The defendants have the right to appeal to another higher level court.
It will never be easy to make such a decision. It is not a question of numbers, but of human beings, but the court also knows of the damage inflicted, the witnesses who were injured, the public welfare and the tranquility of the citizenry which were violated, and they have, as men and women of law, the responsibility to rule accordingly.
