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Two days before his sentence ends, human rights organizations, activists, and the international artistic community intensify their demands for full freedom for Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Afro-Cuban artist and prisoner of conscience, whose five-year sentence officially expires on July 9, 2026.
Otero Alcántara was arrested on July 11, 2021, during the historic protests of July 11, and sentenced in June 2022 to five years in prison on charges of "outrage against national symbols," "disobedience," and "public disorder." He is serving his sentence in Guanajay prison.
The demands for "unconditional" freedom are not rhetorical: they respond to a well-founded fear that the regime will attempt to prolong its imprisonment, impose surveillance, exile, or fabricate new charges against him.
The Supreme Popular Tribunal rejected on April 7, 2026, the habeas corpus appeals filed by Cubalex in favor of the artist, which contended that the sentence should have already been served by combining pre-trial detention with potential reductions for good behavior.
The regime also did not apply those reductions nor included him in the presidential pardon of April 2026, decisions that the Supreme Court confirmed as lawful.
In March 2026, agents from Department 21 of State Security threatened him with death inside the prison, saying, "We are going to kill you here," which triggered a total hunger strike lasting eight days, from March 30 to April 6, which he suspended for health reasons.
Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience on May 2, 2021, and demands his immediate and unconditional release. Freedom House, the United States Embassy in Cuba, and representatives of the European Union have consistently joined this call.
Since June 12, 2026, Cubalex and the Studio of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara launched a symbolic countdown campaign inviting creators from around the world to join in the final month of his sentence with works and acts of pressure.
The campaign's slogan, "Each image is one day less," encapsulates the central demand: their release "unconditionally, unmonitored, without exile, and without new fabricated charges."
In parallel, the digital artwork "Zero Moment" was created, an online clock that counts down each day, hour, and minute until July 9, and the documentary "We Are Connected" about his case was released.
Leader of the San Isidro Movement, a collective founded in response to the repressive policies of the Cuban government, Otero Alcántara is one of the most visible symbols of cultural resistance on the island.
From prison, the artist has expressed his intention to travel directly to Miami as soon as he is released. There is also concern that his departure may be delayed until July 15 due to administrative delays from the regime.
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