Heavy sentences handed down in Cuban show trial

Radio Netherlands ^ | April 08 2003

[knighthawk]

A Cuban court has sentenced dozens of prominent dissidents to heavy jail sentences of up to 25 years. Among those convicted is opposition leader Hector Palacios, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The poet/journalist Raul Rivero and the economist Marta Beatriz Roque both received 20-year sentences. They were all found guilty of subversion against the government. The prosecution demanded life sentences for some of the accused.

The convicts were among the 78 people arrested during the past few weeks in a major crackdown by police. The international community has strongly condemned the arrests. The relatives of the suspects describe the trial as a farce, saying their loved ones were hardly given any time to confer with their lawyers. Journalists and western diplomats were barred from the coutroom.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[HiTech RedNeck]

When are the leftist Castro-ated loonies ever going to get tired of apologizing for this?

[Commander8]

These human rights outrages should be front page news.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Friend of Jimmy Carter...

[Tacis]

This is all clinton-like diversion!! Fidelito has been well paid to stage Iraqi/Al Qaeda terrorists while they wait to move to Mexico [where folks have also been very well paid] and then across the easy, porous border and then up into the US where they will do their damage. But, in Cuba, folks might have noticed all the Iraqis, Saudis, and Sudanesse and reported their preparations so, just like Willie, Fidelito gave them something else to talk about.

[albee]

But...but...this can't be happening in the Socialist Workers Paradise!

Where is Amnesty International? Where is the United Nations?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[knighthawk]

They are all commie-lovers. Amnesty (althought the are concerned about the arrests of these dissidents) even has got more cases on human rights abuses against the US then against Iraq!!!

And they all are too busy bashing the US and Israel.

Amnesty's priorities (National Post vs them)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/800025/posts

[knighthawk]

Whatever happened to Amnesty International?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/728741/posts

[AuH2ORepublican]

The worst thing is, all the Castro apologists and neo-Communists will probably defend Castro, saying that what he does is "no different from what Bush did to the American Talib and the Dirty Bomber," and that besides Castro's regime showed "leniency" by giving the dissidents 25 years instead of life imprisonment. I know that we've got a lot of things to take care of in the Middle East (after we're done with Saddam, Syria should be next), but we shouldn't forget about the terrorist-harboring states in our own backyards: Castro's Cuba and Chavez's Venezuela. We could probably overthrow Castro in a couple of days, which would result in (i) the liberation of 11 million people and (ii) the defeat of a regime that trains and harbors international terrorists.