Cuban Court Sentences 4 Dissidents
In one of the most important human rights cases in Cuba in years, a court sentenced a leading dissident Monday to five years in prison and gave three co-defendants lesser terms for stirring up unrest against the government of Fidel Castro.
A five-member tribunal tried Vladimiro Roca, a former military pilot and son of the late Cuban Communist Party leader Blas Roca, and three others behind closed doors the first week of March. It sentenced lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano and engineer Felix Bonne to four years each, and gave economist Marta Beatriz Roque 3 1/2 years, government television said.
The ruling could have international repercussions for Cuba, which has worked to improve its ties with other nations. Canada, the Vatican and several European nations have urged Cuba to free the four dissidents.
The four were arrested in July 1997 for criticizing a Communist Party document. They were also accused of encouraging Cubans not to vote in that year’s elections.
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