Five years in prison without incarceration for Fernando Bécquer

October 19, 2022

Cuban troubadour Fernando Bécquer, accused of committing sexual abuse against several women, was found guilty by the municipal court and sentenced to five years of corrective work without incarceration.

The sentence against Bécquer was announced this Wednesday and the trial took place yesterday, according to reports from independent Cuban journalists and also Teresa Amarelle Boué, secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

The trial lasted approximately 12 hours and in it several victims testified against the troubadour for violent actions of a sexual nature without their consent.

The FMC reported on Twitter that the defendant was found guilty of the crime of indecent assault and, according to that mass organization, in accordance with due process both parties have the right to a second instance.

The five-year sentence was not well received by those following the developments of the case, which originates from a report by the independent magazine El Estornudo, which presented five testimonies from women who claimed to have suffered sexual abuse by Fernando.

According to Revista Muchachas, the ruling of the Popular Municipal Court of Centro Habana in accordance with the current Penal Code (Law 62 of 1987), is an act of justice for the plaintiffs and sends the message that gender violence cannot go unpunished.

Meanwhile on social media some have considered that the prosecution was practically symbolic in nature, several lawyers agree that the sanction is a disgrace. Jurist Laritza Diversent, from Cubalex, stated that the sentence is derisory.

The messages and posts from dozens of people make it clear that for them five years is not justice, and even less so under the proposed conditions, without incarceration.

People close to the case pointed out that this sentence is insufficient and does not correspond to the crime committed, but that it is setting a precedent and highlight that at least it should be celebrated that Bécquer was not declared innocent.