PRESS RELEASE
Long prison sentences for two siblings and a father, mother cries out for justice from Havana
Fredy Beirut Matos, (age 64), and his daughter, Katia Beirut Rodríguez, (age 36)
Washington, DC, December 28, 2021
Contact: John Suárez (612) -367-6845
Center for a Free Cuba (CCL). Regime in Havana confirmed the 20-year prison sentence for Katia Beirut (age 36) and her father Fredy Beirut for their participation in public protests in La Güinera on July 12, 2021.
Katia and her father took to the streets to protest the arrest of Exen Beirut, Katia's brother and Fredy's son, which occurred in the city of Guantanamo on July 11, 2021. Exen's prosecutor's request is for 7 years of prison and It will be confirmed on December 29 by the Guantánamo prosecutor's office.
“My children just went out to the streets and demonstrated peacefully. There is no proof that my kids have thrown a rock or done anything wrong. I think there is no reason for a people to go out onto the streets and say ‘Homeland and Life’ or we want a change […] there are no reasons for these people to be sentenced for that many years. That is unfair, what was seen in that trial is unfair. It was a theater. There they read a paper. Those people who were reading that paper were shaking, their hands were shaking, it was clear that they did not want to read it. Those people did not want to read that paper, you could see that they felt bad because they knew that they were committing an injustice to all those people who were there, ”Zoila Rodríguez Marzo, mother of the Beirut siblings, reported from Havana through an interview conducted by Palenque Vision and published by Cubanet. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE91ArgqeiA)
The trial of Katia and her father Fredy Beirut began on December 20th and the sentence was handed down on December 23rd by the Havana prosecutor's office.
According to Zoila Rodríguez, her relatives were tried along with 17 other Cubans implicated in the massive July demonstrations. “My family, like all the others, collapsed. Those children who go to school, how, in what way can they force those children to say “Homeland or Death”, how are they going to say “Homeland or Death”, if these children do not know how to explain that their mother has to serve a 20-year sanction . […] That is why I ask the world, all the institutions, I ask the UN, human rights, I ask everyone, please cooperate with us, help us. […] Please, there are many mothers crying, there are many families suffering ”, added Zoila Rodríguez.
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