Cardenas Court tries providers of a Wi-Fi network

Cardenas Court tries providers of a Wi-Fi network / 14ymedio
Posted on November 1, 2014

14ymedio, Cardenas, 31 October 2014 – A strong State Security operation
on Thursday prevented activists and independent journalists from
attending a trial held at the Cardenas Municipal Court at 2:00 PM
against five young people who installed an extensive Wi-Fi network in
this town, according to a report to 14ymedio from independent journalist
Leticia Ramos, who was expelled from the court and briefly detained.

The defendants, who were no older than 30, had been the object of a
complaint by the Cuban Radio Company. They are accused of illegal
economic activity, a crime under Article 228.1 of the Penal Code, facing
a sentence of three months to one year imprisonment. If the aggravating
circumstance of use of materials or means of illicit origin is proved,
the sanction is one to three years imprisonment, in addition to
confiscation of the property involved.

The prosecutor couldn’t prove that “any of the servers were stolen or
had entered the country illegally,” a person who didn’t want their name
published told 14ymedio.

The case had already been announced in the local paper Girón last 26
June, when there was great anticipation to know the results.

The defendants were arrested during an impressive police operation last
June, when the network that received audiovisuals over the Internet and
distributed them through a wireless network was dismantled.

At that time, Girón reported that an individual “behind the façade of a
ham radio operator, installed several antennas in his home.” The
official media report warned that this type of action fostered “the
circulation and consumption of alienating audiovisual materials.”

Several people were caught taking notes and were expelled from the
court. Sources close to the families of the accused reported that the
prosecutor asked for high fines and the permanent confiscation of all
the materials seized.

The trial concluded pending sentencing, with the expectation that the
accused will receive communications about their sentences in the next
few days.

Source: Cardenas Court tries providers of a Wi-Fi network / 14ymedio |
Translating Cuba –
http://translatingcuba.com/cardenas-court-tries-providers-of-a-wi-fi-network-14ymedio/