Cuba: Joint Statement Condemning the Cuban Government’s Systemic Harassment of Writers, Artists, and Journalists
Protests In Cuba
Writers and artists from the Americas and Caribbean send this message of solidarity to Cuban artists, musicians, journalists, writers and intellectuals:
WE STAND WITH YOU
The undersigned organizations representing authors, artists, journalists, and intellectuals urgently call on the government of Cuba to stop the systematic harassment of writers, artists, and journalists; to immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily detained, arrested, harassed, or disappeared; and to respect freedom of expression and artistic freedom.
Artists, writers, and members of the cultural community have been at the forefront of the protest movement, with collectives such as the San Isidro Movement and 27N denouncing the island’s severe restrictions on freedom of expression and demanding the right to express themselves and create art without being censored or punished. Through their art, and by taking to social media, these dissident writers and artists have successfully drawn domestic and international attention to the Cuban government’s disregard for civil and human rights, laying the foundation for the ongoing mass demonstrations. The anthem of the demonstrations, “Patria y Vida,” was written by members of the San Isidro Movement, including Maykel “El Osorbo” Castillo Pérez and Eliezer “El Funky” Marquez.
Cuba is currently in the midst of a devastating social, cultural, health, economic, and political crisis. Numerous problems have plagued the island recently, including food shortages, power outages, and insufficient medical services to address COVID-19, amid a context in which criticism of the government is commonly criminalized. In response, thousands of Cubans have taken to the streets demanding reform. Police and security forces have carried out arbitrary arrests and physical attacks against peaceful protesters, with news outlets reporting that more than 600 people have been detained or disappeared.
Many of these artists have paid a steep price for their art, writing, or activism. In the past several weeks, the Cuban government has unjustly imprisoned artists for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, artistic freedom, and freedom of peaceful assembly. The systemic harassment of artists has reached a chilling and unprecedented level, with scores of creatives arrested, detained, and disappeared for their roles in organizing or participating in mass demonstrations.
The authorities are attempting to silence these artists and writers by locking them up—but their voices cannot be silenced.
We demand that the Cuban government immediately release the following artists:
Hamlet Lavastida
Maykel Osorbo
Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara
Anyelo Troya
We also demand the cease of police and judicial harassment, house arrests, and arbitrary detentions against the following artists, musicians, writers, and journalists who remain under threat:
AfriK3REINA
Camila Acosta
Mavel Alonso
Mary Karla Ares
Orlidia Barceló
Carolina Barrero
Katherine Bisquet
Tania Bruguera
Yaima Cabrera
Danilo Carrazco
Edel Carrero
Henry Costantin Ferreiro
Alberto Corzo
Manuel de la Cruz
Onelci Díaz
Reiner Díaz Vega
Luz Escobar
Wilfredo Fajardo
Ever Fonseca
Solveig Font
Frank Abel García
Yunior García Aguilera
Mario Miguel García Pina
Alexander Diego Gil Valle
Carlos González Acosta
Iliana Hernández
Pedro Luis Hernández
Roberto Hidalgo
Maikel Junior Feo
Abel Lescay
Roilan López
Ramón López Díaz (“El Invasor”)
Iris Mariño
Eliecer Márquez Duany (“El Funky”)
Deisy Martínez
Javier L. Mora
Juan Manuel Moreno
Osvaldo Navarro (“Navy Pro”)
Amaury Pacheco
Alina Palmero
Raúl Pérez Rivero
Raúl Prado
Yanaisy Quezada
Flora Quiñones
Camila Ramírez Lobón
Arionny Ramos
Yanela Reyes
Neife Rigau
Jaime Rivero
Esteban Rodríguez
Yusleidy Romero
Jorge Luis Romero
Juan Carlos Saénz de la Calahorra
Martha Liset Sánchez
Ángel Santiesteban
Héctor M. Sierra
Denis Solís
Carlos Torres
Héctor Luis Valdéz Cocho
Richard Zamora (“El Radikal”)
Adrián Zamora
Signed,
PEN America
PEN Argentina
PEN Bolivia
PEN Brazil
PEN Canada
PEN Chiapas Pluricultural (México)
PEN Chile
PEN Cuban Writers in Exile
PEN Ecuador
PEN Guadalajara (México)
PEN Haiti
PEN International
PEN Nicaragua
PEN Paraguay
PEN Puerto Rico
PEN Quebec
PEN San Miguel (Mexico)
PEN Uruguay
PEN Venezuela