In an Appeal, the Tribunal of Mayabeque, Cuba, Confirms Jail Sentences for Shouting ‘Díaz-Canel Motherfucker’

The Martín Perdomo brothers have been separated and are now in different prisons. (Facebook)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 25 April 2022 — The appeal submitted to the Provincial Tribunal of Mayabeque by brothers Nadir and Jorge Martín Perdomo, sentenced to six and eight years in prison following the anti-government protests of July 11th in San José de las Lajas, has been dismissed, reported Radio Televisión Martí.

The brothers’ attorney, Reynel Gustavo Brito, had confirmed in the appeals brief that in both cases “the tribunal’s partiality is evident as they disregarded the defense’s evidence with superfluous arguments without presenting other proof.” Furthermore, the document states that the sentence “was severe and did not correlate with their prior conduct, for which the accused should be credited.”

The Martín Perdomo brothers were sentenced on February 8th for assault, contempt, and public disorder. For each of them, the Prosecutor had sought two years less than what they ultimately received, but family members were emphatic in their opinions believing the sentence to be ” an aberration,” which cannot be “celebrated or appreciated.”

“This sentence is the culmination of a totally absurd, disrespectful, humiliating theatrical work,” their cousin Betty Guerra Perdomo told this daily. “Everything that has happened with my cousins’ case, from the beginning until now, is an aberration, I do not want to say it is the end because I hold on to the hope that with strength and struggle we can change it.”

Nadir and Jorge were arrested on July 17th after going out to the street to protest on the previous Sunday, as did thousands of Cubans, against the government, the lack of freedom, and the economic catastrophe exacerbated by the pandemic. According to the sentencing document, accessed by 14ymedio, both “decided to mock” the measures imposed by the Ministry of Public Health to limit COVID-19 infections and joined “a group of people” on 54th street in San José de las Lajas.

Many others joined that march, according to the document, at the “call of the accused” and “the banging of pots, metal objects and honking of motorcycle horns causing very loud noises, which alerted the neighbors”; this gave rise to behaviors of “total disrespect”, such as calling out “with euphoria, profane and vulgar” words such as “dickhead police” and “Díaz-Canel motherfucker”, along with “Patria y vida” [homeland and life], in addition to “making vulgar requests of those charged with protecting the place” and snatching a Cuban flag for a moment from an agent who was participating in a government counter-protest.

What is most striking about the sentence is that it shows that the protests escalated to the point of rock-throwing “without the participation of the Martín Perdomo brothers in these episodes.” Despite that, both were sentenced to several years in prison and their allegations have not been taken into consideration.

“I continue to believe that each day they have spent there is a year of life violently stolen and, as a result, the struggle will be for their complete freedom,” said their cousin following the trial.

Furthermore, the brothers have been separated, with Nadir ending up in Melena del Sur prison and Jorge in Quivicán prison, located 30 and 35 kilometers away from the family home, additional drama for their family members. “They separated my children, saying such a big lie that Nadir had requested to be separated from his brother. I will complain to the chief of prisons to request that they be together again because the economic situation is difficult and it is not easy to pay for rides to two different places,” said Marta, their mother.

“To get there I need to hire a car, which costs 1,500 pesos. The driver, out of consideration for us, charges 1,200 to 1,300 pesos for the trip. But I have to travel twice because they are separated,” said Perdomo.

Their mother had shared the result of the appeal, when she declared that she was aware that, although the appeal would be “practically in vain”, she is willing to go through all the pertinent procedures, including submitting “letters to Díaz-Canel for the tortures committed against Nadir.”

“I will continue to seek freedom so long as blood runs through my veins,” she added. “They are playing with us but I must continue fighting for my children.”

Translated by: Silvia Suárez 

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