{"id":9374,"date":"2021-11-15T13:54:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T13:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=9374"},"modified":"2021-11-15T13:54:44","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T13:54:44","slug":"susvetny-dzen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2021\/11\/15\/susvetny-dzen.html","title":{"rendered":"DOIW 2021 \u2013 Take Action for Maykel Osorbo (Cuba)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name: <\/b>Maykel Osorbo<\/span><\/p>\n

Occupation: <\/b>Musician and Activist<\/span><\/p>\n

Situation: <\/b>Imprisoned<\/span><\/p>\n

#MaykelOsorbo #FreeMaykel #ImprisonedWriter<\/b><\/p>\n

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Background<\/b><\/p>\n

Maykel Castillo P\u00e9rez, widely known by the name Maykel Osorbo, is a musician, rapper and author of independent music in Cuba. Osorbo is co-author, alongside other Cuban musicians, of \u201c<\/span>Patria y Vida<\/span><\/a>\u201d (\u201cHomeland and Life\u201d), a song that since its release in February 2021 has served as a rallying cry of hope and an anthem during anti-government demonstrations across the island. The song was nominated for the Best Urban Song and Song of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards. Osorbo is also one of the founders of the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI), a group of Cuban artists and intellectuals founded in 2018 to protest state censorship of artistic, literary or journalistic works and defend freedom of expression in Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

Osorbo was detained on 18 May 2021 while at home and was subjected to enforced disappearance for 14 days. News outlets later reported that he had been held in custody and transferred to\u00a05 y Medio prison, in <\/span>Pinar del R\u00edo<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on 31 May, accused of alleged crimes such as\u00a0<\/span>\u201cresistance\u201d and \u201ccontempt<\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/span> in relation to his refusal <\/span>to be arrested as he was trying to reach the headquarters of the MSI on 4 April 2021. His provisional detention does not comply with international legal requirements or the Cuban criminal code.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Osorbo has suffered no less than <\/span>121 <\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>acts of<\/span> police harassment, including multiple arrests. \u00a0 On 24 September 2018, he was arrested after performing at a concert where he and other rappers publicly opposed Decree 349, a law that regulates all artistic expression in Cuba and silences those that speaks against the government. On 20 March 2019, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for allegedly assaulting a police officer. The rapper was released on 24 October 2019 after the defence demonstrated that his legal proceedings had been violated, and that there had been contradictory testimonies and<\/span> insufficient evidence against him. He was again detained for three days in April 2020 for allegedly promoting \u201cillegal images\u201d, whilst streaming a Facebook Live video where he discussed local politics, COVID-19 in Cuba, and criticised the Cuban authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On 11 February 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) <\/span>\u00a0granted<\/span><\/a> precautionary measures in favour of 20 members of the MSI, including Osorbo, after considering that, as human rights defenders, they are in a serious and urgent risk of irreparable harm to their rights.\u00a0 Osorbo has not had access to a fair trial and, according to the testimony of his relatives, he is receiving threats from the authorities inside the prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

The case of Osorbo is emblematic of the Cuban government\u2019s policy of repression of freedom of expression and persecution of critical voices.<\/span> State-sponsored acts of violence and cases of arbitrary arrest have severely increased over the past year, hitting a peak in July with\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

attacks on peaceful demonstrators. Since 11 July 2021, more than one thousand arrests and disappearances, including instances of people forced to go into hiding, have been recorded. At least 55 artists and writers are currently either under house arrest, imprisoned, or under investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take Action<\/b><\/p>\n

The Cuban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maykel Osorbo, and end all ongoing criminal proceedings against him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what you can do:<\/span><\/p>\n

Advocacy <\/b><\/p>\n