The Cuban government has sanctioned 381 people for participating in rare, anti-government protests on the island last year when thousands of Cubans took to the streets of the capital Havana and other towns in July in protest over rising food costs, medical shortages and dire socioeconomic conditions that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Jazeera reports that of the 381 people sanctioned on Monday, a total of 297 have been sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison for crimes of sedition, sabotage, robbery with force, and public disorder, but quotes the attorney general’s office as warning that tougher sentences could be imposed for those who breached their sanctions or who engaged in new criminal offences.
