A Cuban pastor has been sentenced to one year in prison for homeschooling his children, and his wife has been ordered to spend a year under house arrest.
“This is a great injustice,” Ramón Rigal told the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). “They are trying to force us to send our children only to state schools—not having the option for the children to be taught at home. They should respect the right that parents have based on the human right to teach their children and to respect their faith and the right to homeschool.”
Rigal said that he was not allowed to testify at his trial last month and was prohibited from presenting supportive witnesses.
“They would not let me speak in my defense,” he outlined. “I brought evidence that my children were learning—notebooks and materials—[but] they didn’t care.”
Prosecutors argued that homeschooling is illegal in Cuba “because it has a capitalist foundation.”
Rigal and his wife Adya were taken into custody in February after authorities realized their children were not attending school.
The Rigals had chosen to homeschool as they “wanted the freedom to give our children the education that we, the parents, have chosen.” Article 26.3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that parents have the right to provide their children the education of their choosing. Full Report
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