Cuban opposition activist appears in court to hear charges he bought black-market cement

Cuba dissident jailed since July goes to court

HAVANA — A prominent Cuban opposition figure jailed nearly a year ago was taken to court Thursday for trial on charges of purchasing black-market cement.

Darsy Ferrer arrived at the courthouse in Havana’s 10 de Octubre district in a police car with two Ministry of Interior agents wearing green uniforms.

His wife, Yusnaimy Jorge Soca, and small group of supporters waited outside the building for about two hours. Jorge was then let in — suggesting the proceedings against Ferrer had begun, though the trial was closed to the media and most of the public.

Diplomats from the United States, Britain and a few other nations stood in the shade of trees outside the court building and observed the scene from afar.

A physician, Ferrer is among Cuba’s most prominent dissidents. Like most opposition activists, however, he is better known in Florida and Europe than his country.

In years past, he organized tiny street demonstrations to mark International Human Rights Day in December, but he has been in prison since July 21, 2009, for allegedly purchasing bags of cement on the black market.

The state controls nearly all construction under Cuba’s communist system and many people turn to private sources for quicker repairs. That cement is often pilfered from state stocks.

Ferrer and his wife have not denied they bought the cement for home repairs, but say the case is politically motivated. Ferrer’s supporters say that his political views led authorities to jail him for a crime usually only punishable by a fine.