Raymundo Perdigon Brito

Raymundo Perdigón Brito is an independent Cuban journalist. In December 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison for "Social Dangerousness".

Raymundo Perdigón Brito
NationalityCuban
OccupationJournalist

In 2006, Perdigon was acting as a freelance journalist. He had published articles on foreign websites that documented government abuses.[1] On 17 November 2006, he and his sister Ana Margarita Perdigon founded the Yayabo Press, a news agency, with some other journalists. On 29 November 2006, Perdigon was arrested and told he would be imprisoned if he continued reporting.[2] He refused. At a summary trial six days later, on 5 December 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison for "social dangerousness".[3][lower-alpha 1] When his family was leaving the courthouse, they were attacked and beaten up. Perdigon's father was hospitalized. Ana Margarita Perdigon replaced him as editor of the Yayabo Press.[2]

Perdigon was one of three Cuban journalists who were given long prison sentences in 2006, the other two being Armando Andrés Betancourt Reina and Guillermo Espinosa Rodriguez.[6] A report by published by Human Rights Watch in November 2009 said he had repeatedly been beaten by the guards and placed in solitary confinement.[1]

In February 2009, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called on the Cuban government to release 25 journalists who were being detained for independent reporting, including Raymundo Perdigon Brito.[7] Perdigón was released from prison on 24 November 2010.

He denounced the poor living conditions in the Nieves Morejón prison in the Sancti Spíritus province, where he had been held. He said he would continue to fight for freedom.[8]

References

Notes

  1. The Cuban government often charges journalists with "pre-criminal social danger". Although they have not committed any crime, they are imprisoned as potential threats to society.[4] Other journalists imprisoned under this charge include Oscar Sanchez Madan and Ramon Velazquez Toranso.[5]

Citations

  1. Lobe 2009.
  2. Diaz-Balart 2007, p. 1737.
  3. Michel 2008.
  4. Pre-Criminal Social Danger.
  5. Jacquard 2007.
  6. Karlekar & Marchant 2008, p. 115.
  7. Sanchez Madan 2008.
  8. Radio y Televisión Martí 2010.

Sources

  • Diaz-Balart, Lincoln (2007-01-18). "FREEDOM FOR RAYMUNDO PERDIGON BRITO". Congressional Record, V. 153, PT. 2, January 18, 2007 to February 1, 2007. United States Congress. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-086825-2. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jacquard, Emily (5 November 2007). "United Nations - UN General Assembly asked to send strong signal to Human Rights Council". CNW Telbec / Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Karlekar, Karin Deutsch; Marchant, Eleanor (2008). Freedom of the Press 2007: A Global Survey of Media Independence. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5582-2. Retrieved 2013-07-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lobe, Jim (18 November 2009). "CUBA: Dissidents' Plight Unchanged Under Raul, Charges HRW". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Michel, Louis (March 2008). "Human rights concerns in Cuba" (PDF). Amnesty International. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "Pre-Criminal Social Danger". Capitol Hill Cubans. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  • Radio y Televisión Martí (2010-11-25). "En libertad Raymundo Perdigón Brito". Yayabo Press. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sanchez Madan, Toranso and Oscar (19 February 2008). "IAPA renews call for release of jailed Cuban journalists". Jamaica Gleaner. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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