Cuban Dissident Jailed
for Calling Castro: "Crazy"

HAVANA, Sept 4 (Reuter) - A Cuban dissident was jailed for 18 months on Thursday on a charge of ``disrespect for authority'' arising from a German television interview in which he criticized Cuba's President Fidel Castro and referred to him as ``crazy.''

Hector Palacio Ruiz, who had been in custody since January, was convicted in a municipal court in Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion district. The sentence he received was half the three years jail term sought by the state prosecutor.

Palacio was the head of a dissident group called the Democratic Solidarity Party (PSD), which is not recognized by Cuba's one-party communist government.

He was arrested after giving an interview to Germany's ARD television network, broadcast in December, in which he strongly criticized Castro's rule and called for reforms. At one point in the interview, he used the word ``crazy'' to refer to Castro.

Leaving the courtroom after sentencing, Palacio raised his hands to greet a small group of his supporters gathered outside. They cheered and then stood to sing Cuba's national anthem. One or two shouted ``Long live human rights!''

Palacio's wife described the sentence as ``unjust and cruel.''

``Criticizing one's government is not a crime. It's our right,'' she told reporters.

Supporters of Palacio said plain clothes security agents mingled with the small crowd outside the court room.

Since his arrest in January, Palacio's case had been taken up by Amnesty International and the European Community.

Cuba's penal code contains a section dealing with the crime of ``disrespect'' which penalizes anyone who ``threatens, defames or insults'' a figure of authority or public official. If this figure is the head of state the possible penalty is a jail term of between one and three years.

22:02 09-04-97

Distributed by Cubanet