CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

Marco Antonio PINTUELES MARRERO

At the end of the year, rapper and activist Marco Antonio Pintueles Marrero continued to serve a five-year sentence of correctional labour in ‘La Aguada’ camp for the crime of ‘sedition’. Marco Antonio was arrested…

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CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

Yasmani GONZÁLEZ VALDÉS

Yasmani González Valdés (also known as ‘Libre Libre’) was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2024, after conviction of ‘propaganda against the constitutional order’. He has been held in the Combinado…

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CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

María Cristina GARRIDO RODRÍGUEZ

Cuban poet and activist María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez is continuing to serve a seven-year prison sentence imposed after she was convicted on 10 March 2022 of ‘public disorder,’ ‘contempt,’ and ‘resistance’. She was arrested…

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CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

Ibrahim DOMÍNGUEZ AGUILAR

Musician Ibrahim Domínguez Aguilar is serving a 10-year sentence in maximum security Boniato Prison in Santiago de Cuba where he has been held since August 2021, reportedly in a collective cell…

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CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

Maykel CASTILLO PÉREZ

Cuban musician and rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez, widely known by the name ‘Maykel Osorbo’, continued serving a nine-year prison term in the high security 5 y Medio prison in Pinar del Río after his conviction on 24 June 2022 of charges including ‘contempt, attack, public disorder and defamation of institutions and organisations’…

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CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International CUBA, AMERICAS PEN International

Randy ARTEAGA RIVERA

Musician and rapper Randy Arteaga Rivera continued serving a five-year prison sentence in prison camp ‘La Guanajera’ at the end of the year. He was arrested on 11 July 2021 in Santa Clara province while participating in peaceful protests against restrictions…

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AFRICA, MALI PEN International AFRICA, MALI PEN International

Étienne Fakaba SISSOKO

Author, academic and political activist Étienne Fakaba Sissoko was serving a one-year prison term in Kéniéroba Central Prison at the end of the year. Arrested on…

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CHINA, ASIA PACIFIC PEN International CHINA, ASIA PACIFIC PEN International

Rahile DAWUT 

Rahile Dawut, a renowned anthropologist and leading expert on the study of Uyghur folklore, is reportedly serving a life sentence after conviction of endangering state security in…

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