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Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, leader of the San Isidro movement, went on a hunger strike to protest the capture of his art.
The most prominent dissident Cuban artist has been hospitalized after a week-long hunger strike to denounce the government for hijacking his art, and health authorities in the Havana capital have said he is in stable condition.
Havana’s public health department said on Sunday that 33-year-old Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, leader of the San Isidro protest movement (MSI), had been taken to Calixto Garcia University Hospital.
The department said it showed symptoms of “voluntary starvation,” but was stable and was being treated by doctors.
Several works by Otero Alcantara were intercepted when he was arrested earlier this month in a protest action. Sunday marked the eighth day of the hunger strike.
MSI members, a group of artists and activists demanding greater freedom of expression and freedom, said state security had forced Otero Alcantara out of his home and arrested him, allegedly in hospital.
They questioned the report and asked for more information. “How is it possible that there are no signs of malnutrition or dehydration after being on hunger and thirst strike for more than 7 days?” said the team on Twitter.
The house of Otero Alcantara had been surrounded by police for days without permission for anyone to enter or leave on hunger strike.
“Luis Manuel can’t stand up, his skin and mouth are wrinkled, he doesn’t pee or talk. Her throat is inflamed, ”MSI member Amaury Pacheco, the poet, said on Twitter on Saturday.
On the same day, U.S. State Department official Julie Chung expressed concern about Otero Alcantara’s condition and called on the Cuban government to “take immediate measures to protect her life and health.”
The U.S. Cuban Embassy said on Sunday that Otero Alcantara, like all Cubans, “deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
“We have seen reports that he is hospitalized and his condition is stable. We urge the authorities to protect their well-being at this good time, ”the embassy tweeted.
The United States is very concerned about the well-being of the Cuban entrepreneur @LMOAlcantara and urges the Cuban Government to take immediate measures to protect its life and health.
– Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) May 1, 2021
MSI members were in the lead rare public protests and hunger strikes in November to demand greater freedom of expression and an end to the persecution of the Cuban authorities.
The Cuban government has blamed the US-funded political uprising on Otero Alcantara and other MSI members.
PEN America, a group that supports freedom of expression around the world in the United States, appeared on behalf of Otero Alcantara on April 26 as part of a campaign to curb expression until he accused the Cuban government of persecution.
“Once again, the life and life of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara are in grave danger due to the constant importance of the Cuban authorities for freedom of expression and basic human dignity.” he said Julie Trebault, director of the PEN Artists at Risk Connection project.
“This hunger strike is the last chance to clearly denounce everything he has suffered: unjust custody, house arrest, imprisonment and the destruction of his works. Artists should not put their health and well-being in favor of the right to express themselves.”
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