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Cuba court sentences 4 dissidents to jail terms

01 June 2011 03:06 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Cuban court has sentenced four little-known dissidents to jail terms for public disorder and disrespecting authority, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.

Relatives say Luis Enrique Labrador, Yordani Martinez, David Piloto and Walfrido Rodriguez were convicted of tossing anti-government leaflets in Havana. Martinez got three years, and the others five.

Elizardo Sanchez is head of the dissident group Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. He confirmed the sentences issued Tuesday and said they plan to appeal.

There was a noisy verbal standoff outside the courthouse between family members of the dissidents and a crowd of government supporters who yelled pro-Fidel Castro slogans.

Cuba accuses dissidents of being Washington-backed counterrevolutionaries.