Former Cuban Prosecutor, Seeking Asylum in Switzerland, Insists that the Cuban Communist Party Imposes the Sentences for July 11th (11J) Protests

Raucel Ocaña Parada, former prosecutor of Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba. (Facebook)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 11 May 2022 — Raucel Ocaña Parada, former prosecutor of Palma Soriano, in Santiago de Cuba, left the island and has requested political asylum in Switzerland, according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH). The jurist has denounced in an interview that the sentences against the protesters of July 11th (11J) are developed by the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) before the beginning of each process.

“Already, practically when a sentence is issued regarding these issues of people who demonstrate against the Government, the ruling is already prejudged before the trial is held. The prosecutor already knows what they have to say, the judge also knows what they have to do. The bodies that are behind direct the judicial process,” he says in a video released by the OCDH, based in Madrid.

Ocaña Parada has not been in charge of any case related to the protests in his town, since that has been the task of the head of the Palma Soriano Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, the second city to join the protests after the outbreak in San Antonio de los Baños.

The former prosecutor, however, was in the city and has recounted what he could observe at that time. “Several people appeared in front of the government and the party and there they expressed different issues. Because of that, the police acted and, in one way or another, attacked the population. This caused people to defend themselves, a legitimate defense in a state of necessity. Nobody agrees to receive blows just for expressing their rights,” he says.

The prosecutors, according to their testimony, have no autonomy and are subordinate to their bosses. “Generally, the Headquarters coerces and does not support the prosecutor’s proposal. It tells you that some political issues in the country must be taken into account, that one must not be so benevolent and that one must assume a position of punishment, totally repressive.”

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.