Editing History Will Absolve Me (section)

==Castro's first court appearance==
[[File:Fidel_Castro_under_arrest_after_the_Moncada_attack.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Fidel Castro under arrest in July 1953 after the Moncada attack.]]
Castro made his first court appearance on 21 September 1953 in [[Santiago de Cuba|Santiago]], as one of around 100 defendants arrested after the Moncada attack. Of these, 65 had in fact not taken part in the operation and included leading politicians — among them the nation′s last democratically elected president, [[Carlos Prío]]. Castro, a qualified lawyer, took on his own defense, as did two other defendants. All others were defended by a total of 24 attorneys. Castro based his case on the illegality of the Batista regime and the inherent right of the citizen to rebel against what he perceived to be an illegal government. When asked who was responsible for the attack, Castro replied that "the intellectual author of this revolution is [[José Martí]], the apostle of our independence". Castro also took part in the court′s second hearing on 22 September, but missed day three (25 September) because the regimental chief had wrongly claimed him to be sick. Castro managed to have a handwritten note handed to the judge in court asking for special safeguards for his life that he said was under threat in prison. The court then decided to proceed with the main trial, instructed for the demands in Castro′s letter to be fulfilled and to grant his separate case a new trial at a later date.<ref>De la Cova (2007), pp. 203–211 and 259–266.</ref>

32 prisoners were found guilty but most were treated leniently. 19 attackers were acquitted along with the 65 civilians. The only two female participants in the attack, who had not been armed, received sentences of 7 months. Along with three others found to have played a leading role in the attack, Castro's brother [[Raúl Castro|Raúl]] was sentenced to 13 years on what was then called the [[Isle of Youth|Isle of Pines]].<ref name=Thomas1998>Thomas (1998), p. 550.</ref><ref>De la Cova (2007), pp. 261–264.</ref>