After historic protests, defiant Cubans face mass trials

Fewer than three weeks since the beginning of the unprecedented anti-government demonstrations, the trials are already underway. Not surprisingly, those proceedings are leading to swift convictions.Cuban artists, writers and musicians have decried the arrests and called for an amnesty for non-violent protesters. Facing heavy criticism, the government, in at least a few cases, appears to be backtracking.Following his conviction, Anyelo Troya was released under home arrest while he pursues an appeal. “I should be 100% free,” Troya wrote to CNN in a message.Others may not be so lucky.When protesters took to the streets on July 11 in the working-class neighborhood of La Güinera, homemaker Odet Hernandez Cruzata and her husband Reinier Reinosa Cabrera, who before the pandemic worked in nightclubs, joined in, according to their relatives in Cuba and abroad.Odet streamed the protests live on Facebook.In her 22-minute-long video, the crowd can be heard yelling “homeland and life” and “a people united cannot be defeated!”But as the crowd approaches what they say is a police station, people cry out that shots are being fired at them and to take cover.The Cuban government later said one protester was killed in the neighborhood by officials, who claim the demonstrator attempted to attack them.According to their relatives, Odet and Reinier protested peacefully and returned home.”They weren’t violent, they didn’t throw rocks at anyone,” said Odet’s cousin Angelo Padron, who lives in France but has kept in close touch with relatives on the island. “They didn’t commit any violence. Then special troops came to get them at their home. A commando unit with many police.”Padron said the couple is now under arrest and facing serious charges including assault, disorderly conduct, damage to public property and instigation. CNN has not been able to independently verify the charges. Relatives are trying to find the couple a lawyer while they take care of Odet’s five-year-old daughter, Padron said. Neither had any prior arrests, he added.While their family assert the couple do not seem to present much of a threat, the Cuban government appears increasingly wary of newly tech-savvy and defiant Cubans. Perhaps because, so far, the video of the protest that Odet live-streamed to Facebook has received more than 124,000 views.