The Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara he is living under a lot of pressure in jail. “He has seborrheic dermatitis and although we have been able to reach him with some medications, the state of stress in which he finds himself and the uncertainty have not yet allowed them to act effectively,” his family denounced through a statement released by the San Isidro Movement (M: YES).
Family members reported that Otero Alcántara “had blocked” the phone card he used to make international calls. In addition, they announced that they now have a new lawyer “with whom they are working on a new legal strategy,” although, they point out, that they are aware that the country is experiencing a “context of complete legal vulnerability and that lawyers are threatened by State Security if they try to go beyond what is allowed. “
In the text, they recall that the artist is accused of the alleged crimes of “aggravated contempt, public disorder and instigation to commit a crime” and that they are registered in File 24 of 2021. “The accusation of ‘outrage to the national symbols’, opened since last year to make the work of art Drapeau“, they point out.
“Luis Manuel carries seven years of systematic political activism, which has cost him at least 60 arbitrary arrests of short duration, police surveillance and the cutting of several telephone lines”
In the statement, the MSI, of which Otero Alcántara is the founder, stated that he is accompanying the artist “in this unfair situation” when seeking legal advice in organizations such as Cubalex and making the case visible “as an international forum or platform.” he allows it.
“Luis Manuel carries seven years of systematic political activism, which has cost him at least 60 arbitrary arrests of short duration, police surveillance, the cutting of several telephone lines, defamation in the national press, violation of his privacy, threats to friends , neighbors and relatives, police beatings, and his current incarceration in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, located in the province of Artemisa, “they write by way of balance.
Similarly, the art curator Anamely Ramos denounced on social networks this weekend that the health of Maykel Castillo Osorbo worsens, after hearing from the rapper after the family visit. The musician, who was recently among the artists awarded the Latin Grammy for Best Song of the Year for Homeland and Life, has already served seven months in jail without any trial yet to be held.
“As they have even forbidden him to make calls, those visits are the only way to know about him. He has more swollen glands and they have started to hurt, as well as his head”
“Since they have even forbidden him to make calls, those visits are the only way to find out about him. He has more swollen glands and they have started to hurt, as well as his head. His tiredness is not going away either. We are not sure, but Maykel could be very sick, “Ramos denounced in his Facebook profile. In addition, he regretted that he could not enjoy the triumphs that the song continues to conquer. Homeland and Life.
“I think that those guards and agents and leaders of the vileness are scared at some point by Maykel’s illness, but they do not know how to get out of that situation because they are blind and dumb to reality,” he added. At the end of last month, Ramos warned that the musician had health problems and that he was not receiving adequate medical care at the 5-and-a-half-kilometer prison in Pinar del Río.
Organizations such as Artist at Risk Connection of PEN America, Freemuse, the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America, Freedom House, PEN International and the NGO Prisoners Defenders have demanded from the Cuban government the immediate release of the rapper, who is accused of the crimes of attack, contempt and resistance. He was also named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and his case was reported to the United Nations Committee on Forced Disappearance.
“I did not commit a crime, that is my right, exercising a right and reaching an unfair trial is a great disappointment”
On the other hand, the brother of Luis Robles, Landy Fernández, published the audio of a telephone conversation he had with the activist after the trial that took place on December 16 and of which the sentence will not be known until mid-January. “I did not commit a crime, that is my right, exercising a right and reaching a trial unfairly is a great disappointment. Imagine how I feel living in a country where you have no rights and you do not feel protected by any law”, said Robles, who served a year in prison on December 4.
He also said he felt “anger” at the situation he is living in prison and thanked all those who have given support to the cause of his release. “I stay strong, no one is going to change my ideology, no one can punish me for having a different way of thinking, I will continue forward (…) I will never lower my head to the communists, I decided not to be communist and that’s my problem. “
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