New Report: Two Years After Historic July 11 Demonstrations in Cuba, the Plight of Writers and Artists Forced Into Exile Underscores the Drastic Deterioration of Artistic Freedom on the Island

11 July: Two years after the historic July 11 peaceful demonstrations in Cuba (also known as 11J), the island’s artistic and cultural landscape has been drastically undermined, following a swift government crackdown on dissent which resulted in the detention of nearly 60 writers and artists. Of them, at least 13 remain behind bars, while 13 others were forced into exile. In a new report on the second anniversary, PEN International, PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and Cubalex, profile 17 exiled cultural professionals —demonstrating their resilience— while documenting the repressive and sometimes violent tactics by the Cuban state that forced them to flee.

Método Cuba: Independent Artists’ Testimonies Of Forced Exile, details the forms of repression employed by the Cuban state to silence and force dissident writers and artists out of the country. The report centers their lived experiences in the broader discussion on art, culture, and human rights, underscoring the shared forms of repression faced due to their creative expression. The publication also spotlights the journey that led them to leave the island and the challenges they currently face in exile.

The report calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including all writers and artists who are jailed for peacefully expressing their ideas and creative work. It also urges the governments of Latin America and the human rights community to investigate allegations of human rights violations against artists, writers, cultural workers, and activists in Cuba as it relates to restrictions on freedom of artistic expression, arbitrary detentions, and patterns of forced exile.

Writer and poet Katherine Bisquet said: “It is not our decision to be in exile. We do not go into exile for an economic benefit or to go on vacation in some country. It was not our decision at the time. I had to leave it all behind, I had to leave my books, all my things. In the matter of a day, I had to pack a suitcase with everything that made up my life to that point, all 29 years of it… I only had a one-way ticket.”

Read the report: English, Spanish.

Key points highlighted by the testimonies include:

●       Sixteen interviewees alleged they were either arbitrarily detained, subjected to police or judicial interrogations, or placed under house arrest due to their work or activism. They also alleged being threatened with arbitrary or rights-violative punishments, during detention or interrogation. These threats included physical or psychological abuse, long prison sentences, expulsion from work, and eviction of the artists or their families from their homes.

●       Fifteen interviewees mentioned receiving explicit threats including fines, imprisonment, and professional dismissal directed at friends, colleagues, and/or relatives.

●       All interviewees reported suffering some form of physical or digital surveillance. Mentions of physical surveillance included having police patrols and state security agents stationed in front of their homes and being followed in public spaces, or via surveillance cameras. Meanwhile, digital surveillance included the hacking or tapping of phone lines, messaging services, and other means of communication.

●       Twelve interviewees alleged being victims of state-led harassment campaigns, enduring threats, leaks of their private conversations, and online attacks to delegitimize or harass.

●       All interviewees shared experiences of censorship, including the confiscation of tools or works of art; the prohibition from exhibiting in galleries or official institutions and from holding meetings with other writers and artists; the inability to publish or collaborate with state institutions or organizations affiliated with the government; the exclusion of specific works from exhibitions; and the blocking of online content.

●       Fourteen of the 17 interviewees explicitly mentioned experiencing isolation once in exile, or difficulties associated with integrating into a new society. Specific needs include mobility, public financing, networking assistance, translation and language support, access to work tools, and to cultural spaces and institutions.

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Key recommendations

To the Cuban Government

●       Immediately release all political prisoners, including all writers and artists who are jailed for peacefully expressing their ideas and creative work.

●       Respect the right of return of exiled writers and artists ​​and remove all restrictions currently placed on those who wish to go back to Cuba as their country of origin, ensuring their free expression and the full exercise of their human rights.

●       Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

To the Governments of Latin America and the International Human Rights Community

●       Recognize and denounce human rights violations in Cuba in interactions with regional and international forums.

●       Investigate allegations of systematic human rights violations against artists, writers, and activists in Cuba as it relates to restrictions on freedom of artistic expression, arbitrary detentions, and patterns of forced exile.

To International Civil Society, Cultural Organizations, and the Media

●       Invest in creating local, regional, and international platforms and coalitions that build solidarity with Cuban writers and artists, amplify their voices, and further expose violations of freedom of expression in Cuba.

Romana Cacchioli, PEN International Executive Director, said: The international community must unequivocally condemn the recurring cycles of repression and censorship in Cuba. The persistent intimidation, threats, detention, stigmatisation of writers and artists who disagree with the authorities, and the pattern of forcing them into exile as a means to silence dissent is unacceptable. Through amplifying their voices, we shed light on the egregious and systematic violations of freedom of expression and artistic freedom on the island and urgently call upon the Cuban state to immediately cease the stranglehold on artistic spaces and to respect the human rights of all its citizens.

Laritza Divergent, Cubalex Executive Director, stated: Cuban society is being deprived of a powerful tool for expression. It is a problem that concerns us all. It is important to raise awareness and foster understanding regarding the situation faced by Cuban writers and artists, both inside and outside the country. The repression and harassment they endure, both on and off the island, are not individual afflictions but rather collective ones. This report represents the first step towards recognizing and comprehending the truth of the suffering and horror they experience. The next step is to advocate for justice and ensure that the events described in this report do not recur in the future.

Julie Trébault, director of ARC, said: The disturbing attacks on artists’ free expression and artistic freedom are part of an epidemic of exile and the submission of Cuban society to silence under a singular and totalizing state narrative. Waves of surveillance, arrests, threats, and imprisonment go unchecked, backed by the Cuban government’s desire to extinguish all critical voices on the island. These ruthless measures have resulted in the abhorrent and completely unjustified expelling of independent artists from Cuba, separating them from their families and casting them into a migratory limbo. The draining of artistic, cultural, and intellectual richness in Cuba through forced exile is an incalculable loss for the Cuban people and a major blow to the greater fight for human rights in the country.

Note to editors

For further information, please contact Sabrina Tucci, PEN International Communications and Campaigns Manager, [email protected]