Cuba: Writers and artists remain threatened and imprisoned two months after protests
In the two months since historic mass demonstrations swept through Cuba on July 11, drawing national and international attention to the island’s deteriorating sociopolitical conditions, there have been at least 39 documented arrests of artists related to the protests, four of whom were subjected to trial without a jury. At least 55 artists and writers are currently either under house arrest, imprisoned, or under investigation.
Cuba remains in a devastating social, cultural, health, economic, and political crisis. This crisis includes food shortages, power outages, and insufficient medical services to address the pandemic - all while officials continue to treat peaceful criticism of government policies as criminal behavior. In response to the crisis, thousands of Cubans took to the streets around the country demanding reforms.
Cuban authorities have responded with widespread repression of the protests, including police violence, digital censorship, and the passage of Decree-Law 35, which penalizes the publication of information critical of the government. At least one thousand arrests have been recorded, and countless others were temporarily disappeared or forced to go into hiding.
The undersigned organisations, representing authors, artists, human rights defenders, journalists, and intellectuals, urgently call on the government of Cuba to stop the systematic harassment of writers and artists; to immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily detained, arrested, or disappeared; and to respect freedom of expression and artistic freedom, rather than silencing creatives critical of government policies.
OPPRESSION IS NOT REVOLUTION
We urge that the Cuban government immediately release the following artists:
Didier Almagro
Ernesto Pacheco López
Hamlet Lavastida
Lázaro Rodríguez Betancourt (Pupito En Sy)
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
Maykel Castillo Pérez (“Maykel Osorbo”)
Randy Arteaga Rivera
We also demand an end to police and judicial harassment, house arrests, and arbitrary detentions against the following artists, musicians, and writers, who remain under threat:
Abel Lescay
Adonis Milán
Alina Palmero
Amaury Pacheco
Aminta D’Cárdenas
Ángel Santiesteban
Anyelo Troya
AfriK3REINA
Camila Ramírez Lobón
Carlos González Acosta
Carolina Barrero
Chabelly Díaz
Claudia Genlui Hidalgo
Daniel Triana
David de Omni
Daisy Martínez
Denis Solís
Edel Carrero
Eliecer Márquez Duany (“El Funky”)
Enrique Alonso (Kike Stories)
Ever Fonseca
Fernando Ginarte Mora
Gerson Manuel Montero Soler
Gretel Medina Mendieta
Iris Mariño
Iris Ruiz
Javier Sánchez
Juan Carlos Saénz de la Calahorra
Julio Llópiz-Casal
Katherine Bisquet
Manuel de la Cruz
Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez Yong
María Matienzo
Mario Miguel García Piña
Mavel Alonso
Mijail Rodríguez
Milton Macdonald aka Black Bandanaz
Mityl Font
Omar Mena
Osvaldo Navarro (“Navy Pro”)
Ramón López Díaz (“El Invasor”)
Raúl Prado
Reiner Díaz Vega
Richard Adrián Zamora Brito (“El Radikal”)
Roberto Hidalgo Puentes “Yomil”
Solveig Font
Yasser Castellanos
Yunior García Aguilera
SIGNATORIES
1. Albanian PEN
2. Article 19, oficina para México y Centroamérica
3. Association Cubains en France pour Cuba Démocratique
4. Asociación Por Libertad de Prensa
5. Cadal
6. Club de las Letras, Nicaragua
7. Croatian PEN
8. Cubalex
9. Cuban Writers in Exile PEN Centre
10. Cubanos Canadienses por una Cuba Democrática
11. Danish PEN
12. English PEN
13. Fundamedios
14. Freemuse
15. Ghanaian PEN
16. German PEN
17. Irish PEN/PEN na hÉirean
18. IFEX ALC
19. International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
20. PEN Afghanistan
21. PEN Afrikaans
22. PEN America
23. PEN Argentina
24. PEN Bangladesh
25. PEN Belarus
26. PEN Bolivia
27. PEN Canada
28. PEN Centre of Bosnia & Herzegovina
29. PEN Chiapas Pluricultural
30. PEN Chile
31. PEN Club de France
32. PEN Ecuador
33. PEN Eritrea
34. PEN Esperanto
35. PEN Haiti
36. PEN International
37. PEN Malta
38. PEN Melbourne
39. PEN Norway
40. PEN Nigeria
41. PEN Quebec
42. PEN Puerto Rico
43. PEN Romania
44. PEN Sierra Leone
45. PEN South Africa
46. PEN Turkey
47. PEN Venezuela
48. Perth PEN
49. San Miguel PEN
50. Sloven PEN
51. South India PEN Centre
52. Swedish PEN | Svenska PEN
53. Ugandan PEN
54. Vietnamese Abroad PEN Centre