MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban rapper and plastic artist Fernando Almenares Rivera, known as Nando Obdc, has already spent more than 48 hours incommunicado, under police arrest. According to complaints from his relatives, so far no official charges have been brought against him nor contact with his wife, his mother or those close to him allowed.
The arrest of the artist took place last December 31 in Havanaunder the allegation of alleged “suspicions” of links to “acts of terrorism against the State.”
Although there is no official confirmation about the exact whereabouts of the artist, agents of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) informally informed Nando Obdc’s mother that he could be held in the 7th. PNR station, located in San Agustín, La Lisa municipality. However, the authorities have not provided documents or public information to support this version.
According to Cuba’s Criminal Procedure Law, as described by Alain Espinosa, one of the lawyers at the Cubalex Legal Information Center, “the authorities can detain a person for up to 24 hours. After that time, they are obliged to file charges, which is basically explaining why the person is detained, based on what complaint, what are the facts that are attributed to the detained person and, in addition to this, what is the body of instruction that will be in charge of the investigation.”
In statements to CubaNetEspinosa also highlighted that, in this same phase, law enforcement must also inform the detainee about his rights, “among them the right to communicate with his family or friends, not to be subjected to torture or rape, to be able to designate a lawyer and present evidence in his favor.”
By exceeding 24 hours without charges being filed, Espinosa maintains that “the first thing that is being classified is an illegal detention that, in addition, could be considered a forced disappearance because basically there is no certainty as to the whereabouts of the person.”
Along the same lines, another of Cubalex’s lawyers, Giselle Morfi, declared to CubaNet that “by denying the detainee communication with his family, the authorities are violating article 130.1(b) of the Criminal Procedure Law, which guarantees the right of detainees to communicate immediately and receive visits from family or close friends. ”.
This provision seeks to ensure that the family is aware of the detainee’s situation and can, consequently, assist them legally or morally during the investigation process. For Morfi, “although the law does not specify an exact deadline for making the first call, the requirement for ‘immediate communication’ implies that it must be made within the first hours of the arrest. Furthermore, considering that the arraignment must be carried out within 24 hours, it is reasonable to interpret that family communication must also be guaranteed within that time limit.”
Therefore, the prolonged incommunicado detention of Nando Obdc without charges could constitute, according to Morfi, “an arbitrary detention and the omissions and actions of the authorities could constitute crimes of prevarication and abuse of authority.”
In this case, the lawyer suggested filing an appeal for habeas corpuswhich would force the Cuban authorities to present the detainee before a court and justify his retention.
Nando Obdc, 34, has reported harassment by Cuban authorities in the last decade. A native of the San Agustín district, in La Lisa, the artist combines protest rap and plastic arts with political content. His activism has linked him with other figures of the independent scene, including the rapper Al2 El Aldeano and the graffiti artist El Sexto.
In different interviewsthe musician has denounced previous arrests, beatings and threats by State Security. With his project Arte Prohibido, he has undertaken initiatives that seek to expose censorship and the limits to freedom of expression in Cuba, as well as its impact on the most disadvantaged communities.
On December 31, the artist’s wife assured CubaNet that State Security had justified the arrest of the artist with the alleged suspicion that he was participating in criminal actions against the Government.
