The Florida Bar’s international law section on Friday recognized Cuban dissident lawyer Rene de Jesus Gomez Manzano for fighting human rights violations in his country.

“When we talk about sacrifice, we talk about maybe having to work on the weekend,” Miami attorney Jim Meyer said as he presented the award. “When we talk about courage, it usually involves driving on I-95 or U.S. 1. But there are people putting their lives in jeopardy every day fighting for things that we just take for granted.”