Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was removed from prison two days before completing a five-year sentence.
Cuban artist and dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, shown in 2021, was removed from prison in Cuba two days before completing a five-year sentence. His whereabouts are unknown. File Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA
A Cuban court has 72 hours to respond to a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of artist and dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, whose whereabouts have not been disclosed since he was removed from prison two days before completing a five-year sentence, legal aid organization Cubalex said.
Otero Alcántara served as general coordinator of the San Isidro Movement, a collective of artists and activists that used art to challenge state censorship and defend freedom of expression in Cuba, according to Amnesty International.
He was arrested July 11, 2021, while attempting to join the anti-government protests that spread across dozens of cities that day — the largest demonstrations on the island in decades.
In 2022, a Cuban court sentenced him to five years in prison on charges of public disorder, contempt and insulting national symbols, according to Amnesty International.
According to Cubalex, the habeas corpus petition was filed Monday with the Havana Provincial People’s Court and requests that judicial authorities order Otero Alcántara to be brought before the court, explain why he remains deprived of his liberty and identify the agency holding him.
Cubalex attorney Alain Espinosa said Cuban law establishes a 72-hour deadline for the court to process the petition and require that the detainee be produced, Martí Noticias reported.
Otero Alcántara officially completed his sentence Thursday. However, he was removed from Guanajay Prison on July 7 by State Security agents without authorities informing his family of his destination, independent Cuban media outlets, such as 14ymedio, reported.
The only known communication took place Thursday, when Otero Alcántara made a brief phone call to activist and art curator Anamely Ramos using a State Security telephone.
Ramos said the conversation occurred under the supervision of State Security agents, and that the artist was unable to disclose where he was being held.
According to Ramos, Cuban officials told her that Otero Alcántara would remain in custody while an individual parole request for him to travel to the United States was being processed.
Cubalex said it attempted to file the petition the previous Friday, but said the Havana Provincial People’s Court was closed even though it was a business day.
The organization also said an activist who attempted to submit the document was detained for two days, and that the official email addresses designated for such filings were inactive or rejected messages.
The case has also reached the United Nations system. The Committee on Enforced Disappearances activated an urgent action procedure and gave the Cuban government until July 25 to provide information on the artist’s whereabouts and situation.
Amnesty International, which has recognized Otero Alcántara as a prisoner of conscience since 2021, described his status as an enforced disappearance and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
So far, Cuban authorities have not disclosed the legal basis under which he remains in custody after completing his sentence.
