Finland to pay Cuban volleyball player $235,652 for wrongful imprisonment

The Finnish government has agreed to indemnify one of six Cuban volleyball players who were arrested and tried last year on charges of raping a Finnish woman, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported Tuesday (Sept. 26).

Five of six Cuban volleyball players found guilty of rape in Finland

Luis Tomás Sosa Sierra (in photo at top), 22, was released in late June of this year after a court of appeals determined that the charges against him could not be sustained. There were inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony and the DNA evidence would not support the charges against him. Originally, he had been sentenced to 3 years 6 months in prison.

In August, he filed for reparations with the Finnish State Treasury, asking 1,000 euros ($1,175) for each of the 362 days that he had spent in prison.

He also asked for compensation for psychological trauma and damage to his professional career. He argued that he had lost a $20,000 contract with an Argentine professional team, which he had negotiated before his arrest in Finland in July 2016.

The Treasury will give Sosa 500 euros ($590) per day of imprisonment. In all, the reparations add up to 199,825 euros ($235,652).

Still remaining in a Finnish prison are defendants Rolando Cepeda Abreu, serving a 2-year 6-month sentence; Abrahán Alfonso Gavilán, 15 months; Ricardo Norberto Calvo Manzano, 3 years 6 months, and Osmany Santiago Uriarte Mestre, 4 years. Those are reduced sentences, passed during the June 29 appeal.

A sixth defendant, Dariel Albo Miranda, was found to be not guilty of the charges during the original trial and returned to Cuba. The victim and his teammates stated that Albo did not participate in the sexual acts.