A court in Havana, Cuba, sentenced ex-journalist and businessman Sebastián Martínez Ferraté to seven years in prison for the corruption of minors, reported AFP.
Martínez Ferraté, 57 years old, was arrested in July 2010 upon his arrival in Havana on a business trip. He traveled to Cuba as the general manager of a Spanish hotel chain but previously spent time on the island between 2007 and 2008 when he filmed a hidden camera report on child prostitution in Cuba. The report aired on a private Spanish television station, added EFE. Cuban authorities responded negatively to the report, "Cuba, Child Prostitution."
The Cuban prosecutor requested lowering the sentence from 15 to 10 years in prison and finally Martínez Ferraté received 7 years when the charge of "pimping" was dropped but "corruption of minors" remained, said El Confidencial.
Martínez Ferraté's wife petitioned the Spanish government to demand his immediate release back to Spain on humanitarian grounds. She maintains that her husband is completely innocent, made a mistake by returning to Cuba 13 months ago, and has been punished for exposing a "network of child prostitution" between Cuba and the Canary Islands, reported EFE.
