Havana - Two Czechs, who were arrested by Cuban authorities at the
airport in Havana in March, were sentenced to eight months in prison for
breach of the peace and offering resistance by a Cuban court on
Wednesday, Czech consul to Havana Petr Brandel has told CTK.
One of the men will also have to pay a fine worth an equivalent of 1600
crowns for the material damage .
The men have almost served the whole sentence since they have been in
custody since March 22.
According to information of the Florida-based U.S. daily El Nuevo Herald
from last week, the Czechs, aged 25 and 32 years, were in Cuba on a
two-week holiday. When they were to depart, they arrived at the airport
slightly drunk, and they continued drinking alcohol there.
They ended up in a quarrel and when the airport employees tried to calm
them down, one of the men, an expert in martial arts, started being
aggressive and demolished the equipment.
The airport employees then swooped on the two men and eventually the
police interfered.
The two men were originally accused of assault for which they would face
up to five years behind bars, but the prosecutor's office re-qualified
their act to breach of the peace.
Brandel pointed out that not only the Czech diplomatic mission but
mainly the lawyers of both accused men were pleasantly surprised by the
highly professional work and approach of the prosecutor's office.
Moreover, the court stressed that the case was not in the slightest
politically tinged, and it also took the young age of the accused men
into consideration.
The Czech men will receive the verdict in writing on Friday. Then they
will have a ten-day deadline for appealing it.
($1=16.886 crowns)
Two Czechs given eight months for breach of peace in Cuba -
ČeskéNoviny.cz (12 November 2009)
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/two-czechs-given-eight-months-for-breach-of-peace-in-cuba/407274
No comments:
Post a Comment