14ymedio, Havana, 5 May 2022 — Carlos Ernesto Díaz González (known on social media as Ktivo Disidente) is accused of disobedience and contempt after climbing a wall on San Rafael Boulevard in Havana last Thursday, April 28, and demanding freedom for Cubans.
According to his Facebook account, which is managed by another person, the rapper is detained in the Unpico Technical Unit, Pueblo Grifo, in Cienfuegos, and is expected to be transferred to the Ariza prison, in that province, considered maximum security. The same account indicates that the activist refuses to have a lawyer and is ‘plantado’* (on a hunger strike).
Ktivo Disidente is a member of the Archipiélago collective and was arrested in November of last year, the day before the Civic March for Change, for putting up protest posters in Cienfuegos, where he lives. A week ago, perched on a wall in the Cuban capital, he raised his voice in a speech that lasted about five minutes.
“There must be no violence, there must be no bloodshed, but they must allow us to participate in the political life of the country,” he demanded. “He who is a communist so be it, but he who is not has to be respected,” he said, while most of those who passed by on the street looked sideways or recorded with their mobile phones.
Some also asked him to shut up, to which the activist replied: “The people are scared, the people are terrified: citations, a sector chief above you, an informer above you. How long do we have to live like this?” He also reproached those who entered the hard currency store next to the place where he was protesting: “You can buy there,” he warned.
Hours earlier, Ktivo Disidente had uploaded a video inviting Cubans to a march in favor of the release of political prisoners.
His detention was delayed until the police officers found a ladder with which to lower him from the height to which he had climbed. Later, he got down without offering any resistance and, according to witnesses, he was handcuffed and put into a car. Since then his whereabouts have been unknown.
This Monday, the activist Yasmany González Valdés, who had been arrested in the operations prior to May 1, vindicated after being released the role of some Cubans including Ktivo Disidente, who he praised for his courage against those who ignored him in his protest.
“There’s nothing clearer than the video of Ktivo asking for freedom all by himself and people telling him: ’Shut up!’ This goes for the opponents and for the whole world, Ktivo is in prison for lack of support, so draw your own conclusions.”
*Translator’s note: “Plantado’ — literally ’planted’ — is a term with a long history in Cuba and is used to describe a political prisoner who refuses to cooperate in any way with their incarceration.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
