By REUTERS
 
HAVANA, Jan. 12 - Twenty-three Cubans who crashed a hijacked bus through the gates of the Mexican Embassy in Havana to seek asylum three years ago went on trial on Wednesday.

The young men commandeered a bus and smashed their way into the Mexican mission on Feb. 27, 2002, seeking to leave Cuba. Cuban special forces entered the compound 30 hours later at the request of Mexican diplomats and arrested the asylum seekers.

Sixteen of the men have been held in prison for three years, while seven of the youngest were given conditional releases pending trial, an Interior Ministry official said.

Prosecutors are asking for prison sentences of 5 to 12 years on charges ranging from theft of the bus, violating a diplomatic mission and damage to property.

The 2002 incident was set off by rumors that Mexico was offering exit visas to Cubans, which drew a crowd of several hundred people outside the Mexican Embassy. The hijacked bus sped up the street and plowed through the gates that night.

The asylum seekers were peacefully expelled by a special police unit after a tense 30-hour standoff.