PRESS RELEASE
Cuban independent journalist sentenced to two years in prison today to impede his work in favor of press freedom in Cuba
Link to video statement by independent journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera prior to his trial included
Contacts: John Suarez (612) 367-6845 and Janisset Rivero (786) 208-6056
Independent journalist Yeris Curbelo.
Center for a Free Cuba, September 24, 2024, Washington, DC. The arbitrary trial of independent journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera of the Palenque Visión agency began today, September 24, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., for the alleged crime of “minor injuries.” The Niceto Pérez Municipal Court in the Province of Guantánamo condemned him to two years in prison, and he was promptly sent to the Guantánamo Combinado Prison by State Security. The trial took two hours.
His wife, Odalis Legrá Castellanos, made the following statement from the Island:
“Today, the trial against my husband Yeris Curbelo Aguilera was held, a rigged trial. In the middle of the trial, the defense attorney did not agree with the punishment that was being imposed on Yeris since Yeris had several injuries and certificates of the injuries that he had and in the trial nothing of that was mentioned, and yet they asked for two years of deprivation of liberty. When the members of the court stood up to deliberate, a State Security agent entered where they were deliberating and when they left, they came out with the same punishment that the prosecution had asked for, leaving one of the aggressors who was also being tried acquitted,” she said from Guantanamo and added that the aggressor who was brought to trial is Adrian Fuentes Laffita, and was acquitted, the other three aggressors were brought as witnesses against Curbelo Aguilera.
“Adrian Fuentes Laffita was the one who attacked Yeris with a machete, causing him injury. It is an extremely immoral and arbitrary sentence, as is the situation that Yeris and his family are in. It is important to remember that Yeris Curbelo Aguilera has been an outstanding activist, with notable leadership in his community, the town of Caimanera, which is complicated by the presence of the Guantanamo Naval Base, as well as security forces and measures implemented by the Cuban regime. Yeris has been imprisoned for political reasons multiple times, and his son has been psychologically harmed and has had to seek professional help. Following the May 2023 demonstrations in Caimanera, Yeris has spoken out against the situation of the imprisoned young people and their families. I urge the international community, parliamentarians, and organizations that watch over freedom of the press to speak out and condemn the Havana regime for arbitrarily imprisoning the independent journalist Yeris Curbelo Aguilera,” said Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina, director of Palenque Visión agency and Coordinator of the Eastern Democratic Alliance.
SUMMARY OF FACTS
According to the independent journalist’s summary of the facts, his 16-year-old son Jessy James Curbelo Garrido was attacked in the early hours of April 14 this year by 21-year-olds Miguel Mosqueda, Douglas Ismark Mazar Gongora, and Mariano Reyes, who beat him with kicks, causing a sprain in his right arm, facial injuries, and multiple convulsions as a result of the blows to the head. The young man was sent to the Pedro Agustín Pérez Pediatric Hospital in Guantánamo.
