Canada condemns Cuban regime for the sentencing of 11J protesters

On February 17, the Canadian Foreign Ministry criticized the trials of participants in the July 11 anti-government protests in Cuba and the regime's violations to free expression and demonstration.

“Canada condemns Cuba’s harsh sentencing following the July 2021 protest. Canada strongly advocates for freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly free from intimidation. We stand with the people of Cuba in their aspiration for democracy, wrote the entity on Twitter. 

Canada condemns #Cuba’s harsh sentencing following the July 2021 protests. 🇨🇦 strongly advocates for freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly free from intimidation. We stand with the people of 🇨🇺 in their aspiration for #democracy.

— Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) February 17, 2022

In the latest judicial trial related to the popular demonstrations of July 2021, a score of people was sentenced to up to 20 years of imprisonment in Holguin, including minors. 

Since October of last year, Cuban authorities began imposing sanctions on individuals imprisoned following the popular uprising in the summer of 2021, with sentences ranging from a few months to more than 20 years in prison.

Cubalex, a non-governmental organization that offers legal advice to politically persecuted people in Cuba, registered that 1377 people were detained as a result of the protests. Of these, at least 727 remain in prison, including 15 who are under 18 years.

The Attorney General's Office, after more than six months of silence on the proceedings against the protesters, clarified that 790 of them are in jail with a precautionary measure of provisional imprisonment.

Around 55 defendants are between 16 and 18 years of age, which, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are minors. Of these, 28 were "secured" with the precautionary measure of pre-trial detention.

Sixty defendants are between 19 and 20 years old, and 41 of them are in provisional detention. To date, the Havana regime acknowledged 84 trials against 11J political prisoners, of which 172 defendants have been sanctioned.

In January, the U.S. embassy in Havana criticized the island's regime for trying six minors who participated in the July 11, 2021 anti-government protests.