This Wednesday, the Popular Provincial Court of Artemisa rejected the request for conditional release in favor of the independent artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, imprisoned since the protests of July 11, 2021.
A publication on his Facebook profile explains that the aforementioned instance determined that the activist must remain in jail.
"In this sanctioned person, the purposes of the sentence have not been achieved and he is not in a position to face social reintegration in a positive way before the family and society, especially when it is a crime regulated in instruction 273 of the CGTSP. , having to remain in prison," states the court report.
Relatives and activists of Otero Alcántara denounced the violence of the penal system on the island, and stated that it "does not stop intimidating Cuban citizens."
"Those who “are not in a position to face society or their own relatives” are all the Castro judges, prosecutors, and soldiers who are part of the fascist and macabre game of the dictatorship," the publication highlights.
In June 2022, the leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) and political prisoner was found guilty of the crimes of "outrage to the symbols of the country, contempt and public disorder", in a trial strongly criticized by independent civil society. , which questioned the guarantee of the artist's legal rights.
The regime did not allow the international press or foreign diplomats to enter the trial and only allowed two family members to attend the trial.
Declaredprisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and included in a Freedom House campaign, Luis Manuel Otero's health has deteriorated noticeably during his stay in prison.
In 2021, TIME magazine recognized Otero Alcántara within its list of the 100 most influential people of that year, along with figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Russian activist Alexei Navalny, gymnast Simon Biles and businessman Elon Musk .
The magazine highlighted his role asleader of the San Isidro movement, the group of Cuban artists and intellectuals who have demanded freedom from the Cuban government.
The nomination was made by Chinese artist Ai WeiWei, underlining Otero Alcántara's influence in the revitalization of public performances in Cuba, which had their heyday in the 1980s. Despite the importance of his work, the Cuban government continually discredits his work, going so far as to question his authenticity as an artist and accusing him of provocations subsidized by the United States.
Last September Otero was recognized among the six winners of the Prince Claus Impact Award, worth 50 thousand euros.
In the last two years, several international organizations have echoed the call for the release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maikel Osorbo, but the Cuban government has repeatedly ignored these demands.
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