Cuban political prisoner Juan Ramón Rivera Despaine this week had 6 months added to his sentence, after he was found guilty of "disrespect," according to a report posted at Payo Libre.
Rivera — who with the late Orlando Zapata Tamayo co-founded the Alternative Republican Movement — said the extra time is retaliation for a hunger strike and other protests he has carried out to demand needed medical attention. In August 2009, he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years on a charge of "assault" after he was arrested for selling tomatoes from his home.
"State Security directed the whole process and fabricated this crime because I refused to cooperate with them, as they had invited me days before," Rivera told human rights activist /independent journalist Juan Carlos González Leiva. "I was not previously advised of the hearing, so I couldn't name a lawyer for my defense nor advise my family. Only guards were in the courtroom."
Read more about Rivera, here.
For more news about Cuba, Cuban political prisoners and the struggle for freedom on the island, follow me on Twitter at @marcmasferrer
Recent Comments