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Trial Set For Cuban Rocker

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

HAVANA - Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of former President Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trial Friday for "social dangerousness," a charge that could carry four years in prison.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home Monday, shortly after the band had completed work on a new album. Cuban law defines "social dangerousness" as behavior contrary to "communist morality," and police say they use it to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a more serious crime.

Performing songs with angry lyrics that poke fun at or openly insult Castro and his brother Raul, who became Cuba's president in February, Porno para Ricardo is banned from official Cuban airwaves.

The arrest has touched off an avalanche of criticism on blogs in Cuba and the United States. Musicians on and off the island also sent e-mail decrying the case.

The Associated Press

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