Cuban officials say more than 700 people who took part in anti-government protests last year have been charged with crimes including sedition, vandalism, theft and public disorder. The public prosecutor’s office said 172 people had already been tried and convicted, without giving details. Families and activists have criticised the trials as unfair, and say the sentences are disproportionate. Hundreds of people were arrested after the protests, the largest in decades. Thousands demonstrated across the Communist-run island last July to voice anger over food and medicine shortages, price increases and the government’s handling of the pandemic. The statement by the public prosecutor’s office is the first official confirmation of the trials. In total, 710 people faced charges, it said, with most of them being held in detention as they await the trials.(BBC)…[+]