Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been reported missing following the expiration his jail sentence.
Otero Alcántara was arrested in 2021 for insulting national symbols. Handed a five year sentence, he was due to be released on 9 July. Instead, State Security agents removed him from Guanajay Prison and his whereabouts is unknown.
One of the leading figures in the activist San Isidro Movement, which protest the increasing government oppression and censorship on the Caribbean island, Otero Alcántara had previously been in and out of jail and house arrest. In 2021 Otero Alcántara went on hunger strike to protest his persecution and the confiscation of his artworks, many of which feature the Cuban flag.
Cubalex, a human rights NGO, attempted to file a habeas corpus petition for his release last week, but originally found both the Provincial People’s Court of Havana – including the street where it is located – the competent body to hear the request, as well as the Supreme People’s Court, remained closed despite it being a regular working day. The organisation first emailed its protest, then submitted it formally on 13 July. The relevant judicial authorities now have a legal deadline of 72 hours to issue a response.
The UN Secretariat has also requested information concerning the artist’s status from the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
