LAS TUNAS, Cuba — A civil court in Cuba sentenced the pastor of a house church to a year of house arrest Oct. 22 for loud worship services, sources said.
Juan Carlos Nuñez received the hastily delivered sentence in Cuba’s eastern city of Las Tunas, where he leads a house church of 550 worshippers, before his attorney had an opportunity to defend him, a source close to the pastor said.
Nuñez was charged under the country’s environmental protection laws with “disturbing the peace.”
Nuñez said he hopes to appeal the sentence, which he said was overly harsh. The charge of disturbing the peace stems from complaints filed by Nuñez’s neighbors that the sound system for his Apostolic House of the King of Glory church used for music and preaching was too loud. Nuñez obliged them, he said, by replacing the speakers with smaller, 150-watt units.
Nuñez said the reduced amplification is barely adequate for his congregation, which meets in the courtyard of an apartment complex in Las Tunas. (MS)
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