Innocent as charged
Though a regular visitor to Cuba, Elie Raffoul says he was unaware of the risks of driving on the island. He's certainly aware of them now (see previous post).
Canada's Foreign Affairs department has long advised its citizens not to drive in Cuba. Conditions there can be hazardous, it warns. Road signs are scarce, few routes are lit and "bicycles, pedestrians and horse-drawn carts use the middle of the road and do not readily give way to oncoming vehicles."
All this can be true. But the Foreign Affairs website errs when it states that "the onus is on the driver (charged after an accident) to prove innocence" As I've written here before, Cuba is no different than many other countries in requiring that the burden of proof rest with the prosecution, not the defendant.
How well this is applied in the Cuban court system (or indeed, the courts of other countries) could be another matter. Still, any discussion about the risks of foreign travel should be based on fact.
Canada's Foreign Affairs department has long advised its citizens not to drive in Cuba. Conditions there can be hazardous, it warns. Road signs are scarce, few routes are lit and "bicycles, pedestrians and horse-drawn carts use the middle of the road and do not readily give way to oncoming vehicles."
All this can be true. But the Foreign Affairs website errs when it states that "the onus is on the driver (charged after an accident) to prove innocence" As I've written here before, Cuba is no different than many other countries in requiring that the burden of proof rest with the prosecution, not the defendant.
How well this is applied in the Cuban court system (or indeed, the courts of other countries) could be another matter. Still, any discussion about the risks of foreign travel should be based on fact.
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| Airport police (with a rather tattered Geely CK patrol car): Onus is on authorities to prove in court that a person accused of a crime is guilty. |
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