MADRID, Spain.- The Cuban artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (LMOA) remains on a hunger and thirst strike in the Guanajay maximum security prison, in response to the violation of his rights and mistreatment to which he is subjected in the prison, where the regime has unjustly imprisoned him for more than a year and a half.
“I just spoke with Luis Manuel Otero. His voice was broken. He could barely speak. Luis has been on a hunger strike for seven days and he has incorporated, a few days ago, the one of thirst ”, said the activist Claudia Genlui.
Through two publications in Facebook He recalled that this is the fifth hunger strike that Otero Alcántara has carried out in prison. One of these left sequelae in one eye and caused paralysis.
“State Security once again ignores his status as a striker. And aware of Luis’ delicate state of health… they do not listen to his main demand: his FREEDOM. (…) I fear for Luisma’s life. I fear that her body will not resist another strike and the consequences will be worse than in the last one, ”said the activist.
Regarding mistreatment in prison, Claudia Genlui stressed who “force his complete isolation from the world despite the fact that he is already in a prison”, the calls that they allow him are only ten minutes, twice a week, unlike other prisoners who do have more possibilities.
In addition, he recalled that on December 31, 2022, when the entire Guanajay prison called, he was prohibited from doing so; and the same thing happened on February 14.
“Her body is her only resource to demand that her rights be respected in the face of such arbitrariness, in a regime that violates our dignity as human beings,” said the opposition member; and she held the Cuban dictatorship responsible for anything that could happen to Luis Manuel Otero.
“How long will they continue to destroy the lives of so many Cubans? Until when will they continue to destroy a country that does not belong to them?” he questioned.
Luis Manuel Otero, more than a year and a half in prison
In June 2022, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was sentenced to five years in prison, in a trial held behind closed doors, for the alleged crimes of insulting the symbols of the country, contempt, and public disorder.
While incarcerated, in September 2021, the prestigious American magazine Time chose the artivist as one of the most influential people of 2021.
Last year he received the prize Prince Claus Impact 2022, delivered by the Dutch fund of the same name, which aims to recognize artists who from their communities carry out relevant, necessary and inspiring work, addressing political issues, related to the environment or in defense of human rights .
In November 2022 International Amnesty (AI), one of the organizations that has continued to denounce and make his case visible, called to join a campaign to demand his release.
This week the NGO Freedom House included the leader of the San Isidro Movement in a global campaign to demand the release of political prisoners, stressing that “when the Cuban authorities mobilized to stifle artistic expression, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara put his body and his freedom at stake and went out into the street”.
