Art personalities ask the Cuban government not to repress artists

"LibreXpresión": interview with Cuban artist Tomás Esson 14:03

(CNN Spanish) -

A group of more than 300 personalities of art, letters and human rights in the world demanded this Wednesday the government of Cuba to immediately stop "the abuses against Cuban artists," according to a joint statement published by PEN International, Artists at Risk Connection of PEN America and Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"The Cuban government should respect freedom of expression, release artists who have been arbitrarily detained, desist from abusive criminal charges and allow those in exile to return to their country, said personalities from the art world and organizations. of human rights ", the text reads.

The statement was signed by personalities such as "Meryl Streep, Orhan Pamuk, Elena Poniatowska, Isabel Allende, Sergio Ramírez, Platon, Zadie Smith, Rosa Montero, JM Coetzee, John Lithgow, Jules Feiffer and Khaled Hosseini, as well as prominent Cuban artists such as Tania. Bruguera, Yunior García, Wendy Guerra, Yotuel and Hamlet Lavastida ", was explained in the document.

According to the collective, the Cuban artistic sector has been the target of constant "abuse" by the government, as it has "become a prominent voice in denouncing the lack of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Cuba."

According to HRW, at least 50 artists have been in prison, under house arrest or under investigation in recent months.

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Among the artists detained by the regime are Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo.

The latter, also known as Maykel Osorbo, is one of the authors of "Patria y Vida", a kind of anthem of the protests against the Government.

Otero Alcántara was arrested on July 11 in Cuba during the massive demonstrations against the regime in different cities of the island.

A document from the Attorney General's Office that Claudia Genlui, activist and partner of the detainee shared with CNN, indicates that Otero was accused of the crimes of public disorder, contempt and instigation to commit a crime.

Castillo, for his part, has been in "preventive detention since May 18, after being falsely accused of aggression, resistance, evasion of prisoners and detainees, contempt, public disorder and spread of epidemic," says the NGO Freedom House. The Cuban government, however, has not officially recognized the activist's arrest.

CNN has not been able to speak directly with Otero Alcántara or Castillo since their arrests.

In the case of Otero, Genlui assures that he did not participate in riots and was arrested before the start of the July mobilizations, and that he has pleaded not guilty.

Castillo also maintains that he is innocent, his lawyer has told various media.