Cuban players during trial
The Italian gazetta.it made an exclusive report from the Finnish prison, interviewing these five Cuban players that were sentenced for their role in raping a woman in Finland – Osmany Uriarte (21), Luis Sosa (21), Rolando Cepeda (27), Ricardo Calvo (20) and Abrahan Gavilan (21).
“It’s terrible what we are experiencing. Everything that we achieved in volleyball world vanished in a few days. I was proud to watch my teammates at the Rio Olympics at the debut against Russia, cheering loudly from the cell. There are too many strange coincidences: they destroyed a strong team, all of us have begun to play abroad. The trial was held in a hostile environment. Only because we are foreigners with dark skin, some Cuban words were not translated well… I lost all the money earned in Greece. In Cuba, there is no Skype. My wife, mother and my two children had to go to Moscow to call me. Next week I’ll have first birthday in jail,” says Cepeda.
The second one who wanted to share a story from the jail was Osmany Uriarte.
“I was the first to learn about this woman that we have been sentenced for. We would have never ruined our careers because of her. I didn’t have the courage to watch the Olympic Games, it was so difficult for me. I’ve seen the sky just after seven months. I didn’t have strength to go out and to get some fresh air. I’ve done nothing but watch movies. There is also a hostile attitude toward us. They see us like the worst criminals. We need to have doors open even though when we are taking a shower. I have no money to call. Our Ambassador can give us anything but there is a prize for it. We will have to pay 23,000 euros within a year. The lack of the freedom is a horrible experience. I miss my mother too, I even tattooed “the love of a mother is the one that lasts forever,” describes Uriarte.
Luis Sosa was very clear in his statement.
“We are completely destroyed, abandoned. I didn’t have sex with that woman. We hope that our appeal will change something…”
To read the whole report go to gazzetta.it.
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