18 September 2009 4:13 by James "Dela" Delahunty
Cuban freed after being sentenced over YouTube video A Cuban man has
been freed after being sentenced to two years in prison for posting a
YouTube video protesting a food shortage in the country. Juan Carlos
Gonzalez Marcos was sentenced last month after the video had receiver
450,000 views since it was posted in April. Instead, he was sent to a
psychiatric hospital for three weeks of treatment for alcoholism.
"It's a corrective decision very unusual for a government known for its
rigidity," said Elizardo Sanchez, spokesman for the independent Cuban
Commission on Human Rights. He said it was likely the result of
"international public opinion." Gonzalez was originally seen drunk in a
video where he pushed away a person being interviewed about reggaeton.
"What we need here is a little bit of jama," he shouted (jama being
slang for food). "We need food, we're hungry here. Listen to what
Panfilo tells you from Cuba: food." He then published a video on
YouTube, sober, where he recanted the message. On August 4 he was
detained by police and sentenced the following week for two years for
"dangerousness."
Cuban freed after being sentenced over YouTube video (18 September 2009)
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/19445.cfm
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