Cuban protesters await sentencing, facing long prison terms

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban courts have wrapped up the hearing phase of six mass trials for people accused of involvement in the largest and most unruly protests on the island in decades. That leaves more than 100 defendants awaiting potentially heavy sentences. Relatives of defendants and activists following the trials say prosecutors are seeking sentences of up to 30 years. No date has been announced for sentencing. Thousands of Cubans demonstrated in mid-July to protest shortages of goods, power blackouts and economic hardship. Officials haven’t said how many people were detained, but an organization created to track the cases has registered 1,300 arrests