Amnesty International condemned the prison sentences of Cuban opposition artists

The organization Amnesty International on Friday condemned the sentence of the Cuban courts which decided to punish two artists in the country with sentences of more than five years in prison for “offending national symbols” and “defaming the institutions”.

is approx Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and Maikel Castillo, who must respectively serve the sentence of five and nine years of imprisonment, according to the resolution that was previously communicated by the Attorney General.

The first is accused of being “the perpetrator of the crimes of outrage to patriotic symbols, contempt and public disorder “. While his colleague, known by the nickname of ‘Osorbo’, is accused of” public disorder and attack and defamation of institutions and organizations “.

In light of the news, several international organizations have described the opinion as a “political persecution”.

In this sense, the director of Amnesty International for the Americas, Erika Guevara, underlined: “Both Luis Manuel and Maikel are artists who have used art as a means to express their opinions on the social, political and economic conditions in Cuba, “said the head of the headquarters in Mexico in a statement.

And he denounced: “These are two emblematic examples of how the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel uses the judicial system to criminalize critical voices, including through accusations of alleged crimes incompatible with international law,” he said.

Similarly, Guevara Rosas established that both the Otero Alcántara and Castillo Pérez trials “it should never have happened” and noted that “they were conducted behind closed doors and under the strong control of the police denounced by activists”.

Along the same lines, he has again targeted the Cuban government, which he accused of using repression for “several decades”.

“The trial against Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo is a shameful example the human rights crisis caused for decades by the repressive policy of the Cuban government. From Amnesty we condemn the criminalization of these prisoners of conscience, who are detained exclusively for exercising their rights “, reads the statement.

Furthermore, they called for “immediate and unconditional freedom for Luis Manuel Otero, Maykel Castillo and all the people imprisoned for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and defending the rights in Cuba”.

Finally, the representative of Amnesty International concluded: “These practices, which openly violate the full exercise of human rights in the country, must continue to be publicly condemned,” he concluded.

The case

Otero Alcántara and Castillo, better known by the nickname “Osorbo”, have captured international attention due to the request of international organizations and the US administration for their release with the argument that they are victims of political persecution, but the authorities defended the actions of the court on the grounds that the law was applied to them as to any citizen for common crimes.

According to a statement by the Prosecutor’s Office published in the official media, the judges sentenced Otero Alcántara to five years as the perpetrator of the crimes of contempt of national symbols, contempt and public disorder, and “Osorbo” to nine years for assault and defamation of institutions, among other criminal figures.

The oral hearings took place on May 30 and 31 and at that time prosecutors were asking for seven years for Otero Alcántara and 10 years for “Osorbo,” the artists’ friends said.

DB