Cuban dissident sentenced to 12 years for graffiti

"Human rights activists in Cuba say a dissident in the country has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for writing anti-government graffiti on the walls of a public building in the capital Havana.

"Rolando Hijmenes Posada has been held without charge since 2003.

"According to the Cuban Human Rights Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation Rolando Hijmenes was sentenced over the weekend in a closed trial without any defense representation.

"He had already spent four years in prison without in charge.

"In 2003 he is said to have written several slogans critical of President Fidel Castro on at least one building in Havana.

"He is said to be the second dissident to face prosecution in Cuba in recent weeks. "

[If you can still complain about your government, celebrate. Keep dissidence legal. - Susan]