English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 23 May 2022 — More than ten months after sending him to jail, the authorities have finally set a date for the trial of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI). The trial will be this coming May 30 and 31 at the Municipal Court of Marianao, in Havana This … Continue reading “The Trial of Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is Set for May 30”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 29 April 2022 — Cuban opponent and leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, has lost sight in one eye in the prison where he has been held since the antigovernment protests last July, denounced NGO Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday. Erika Guevara, Director for the Americas … Continue reading “According to Amnesty International, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara has Lost Sight in One Eye while in Cuban Prison”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 April 2022 — After several hunger strikes, the last one between January and February of this year, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara “is trying to recover his physical constitution by putting his best effort into exercising and trying, as far as possible, to eat,” according to art curator Claudia Genlui speaking on Monday. … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara Suffers Eye Damage Since His Last Hunger Strike”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 20 February 2022 Dear Luisma: The last time we spoke on the phone, I suggested that you organize a gallery with your works under the title The Day After. I felt that you liked the idea, so I took advantage and said obliquely (as if I wasn’t implying that you should abandon … Continue reading “Message to the Recruit who Watches Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 February 2022 — Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in jail since the protests on July 11, is in a “delicate state of health” after spending almost a month on hunger strike, art curator Claudia Genlui told 14ymedio. “We had information from a person inside the prison that Luis Manuel is currently very weak … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is in a ‘Delicate State of Health’ Warns the San Isidro Movement”
Boris Mijatovic, Kassel, Germany, 7 February 2022 Dear Ambassador Ripoll Diaz, I am writing to you to express my deep concern about the disturbing situation of the imprisoned artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The intention of this letter is to urge you to speak out in favor of his immediate release. Mr. Alcántara, as an … Continue reading “Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, Seven Months in Prison Without Trial”
14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2021 — Before being arrested on July 11 , without having had time to participate in the protests that day, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), had long been subjected to permanent harassment by the political police. Specifically, since November 26, 2020, when State Security evicted … Continue reading “Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara: One Year Harassed by Cuban State Security”
14ymedio, Havana, 29 September 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been on a hunger strike since Monday, as confirmed by the San Isidro Movement (MSI), of which he is a part, this Wednesday. “They confirm that Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been on a hunger strike since Monday, September 27. His body … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara Again Declares a Hunger Strike”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 September 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has now spent 53 days in prison, was charged with new crimes on Monday. The curator Claudia Genluí, a member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), reported that Otero Alcántara is now being accused of public disorder, instigation to commit a crime and … Continue reading “Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is Charged With New Crimes”
Cubalex, 10 May 2021 [please note date*] — We present a summary of our report, which you can read in its entirety at this link. The situation that Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is going through is the result of the unequal relationship between the power of the State and that of the citizen who expresses disagreement … Continue reading “The Current Status of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara’s Health / Cubalex”
Cubalex, 12 May 2021 [please note date*] — Cubalex monitored acts of harassment against civil society from May 3rd to 9th, as well as government measures taken in the context of the pandemic and events of shortages of products and basic goods. This report also breaks down the selective internet outages that activists and dissidents … Continue reading “Detentions and Besieged Activists: No One Can See Luis Manuel Otero / Cubalex”
Cubalex, 12 May 2021 [please note date*] — On April 25, after suffering constant acts of repression, Luis Manuel Otero made the decision to go on a hunger strike as a protest. On April 30, members of his family reported that he was very weak. On the seventh day of the strike, Luis Manuel Otero declared: “If … Continue reading “What’s Happened to Luis Manuel Otero Since he was Imprisoned? / Cubalex”
Cubalex, 13 May 2021 — The activist Mario Alberto Hernández Leyva of the Opposition Movement for a New Republic was fined yesterday, May 11, for trying to enter the Calixto García hospital to inquire about the health status of Luis Manuel Otero. The activist took with him the response that the Court issued to the … Continue reading “Activist Fined for Trying to See Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara / Cubalex”
Cubalex, 14 May 2021 — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) and its Special Rapporteurs for Freedom of Expression (RELE) and for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (REDESCA) expressed concern about the escalation of repression against journalists, artists and human rights defenders in Cuba, in particular, members of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), beneficiaries … Continue reading “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Rules in Favor of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara / Cubalex”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 24 May 2021 — On Monday, a group of Cuban artists demanded of the director of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Jorge Fernández Torres, that all the works of their authorship be withdrawn from exhibition until Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is released from the Calixto García Hospital in Havana, where he has … Continue reading “A Group of Cuban Artists Sign a Letter for the Release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara”
