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The Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, arrested on Monday while preparing for an independent art event in Havana, will be tried next Friday for the alleged crime of "receiving stolen goods."
According to the report from the portal Cubanet, the visual artist was detained after the police raided his home and seized “some old and damp cement bags.” Otero Alcántara was taken to the police station of Cuba and Chacón in Old Havana, while his partner, Yanelis Núñez, was questioned for being a “supposed witness” to the incident.
According to the two involved, the arrest and the upcoming judicial process aim to hinder the realization of the #00 Havana Biennial, an alternative that Otero has been orchestrating in response to the recent cancellation of the official event of the same name.
Núñez Leyva stated to the media that the police claimed they “had nothing to do with political matters, that they did not want to stop any event,” and assured him that Otero would be released this Tuesday.
The four bags of cement found in the artist's home were purchased by one of his aunts at a construction materials flea market, family members said.
Broadly speaking, the crime of receiving involves concealing or hiding individuals or items that could be considered as criminal. Thus, the crime of receiving is a crime that is preceded by another offense.
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