Norway rights prize awarded to jailed Cuban 'artivist' Otero Alcantara

By AFP

Norway's Rafto Prize, honouring human rights champions, was on Thursday awarded to imprisoned Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, "for his fearless opposition to authoritarianism through art."

The Rafto Foundation said that "Otero Alcantara spearheads a new generation of independent Cuban voices using creative forms of resistance to challenge the authoritarian regime."

"Like many artists before him, his art and his civic position push the limits of freedom of expression in the face of censorship and repression," it said in a statement.

Thirty-six-year-old Otero Alcantara, dubbed an "artivist" -- a combination of artist and activist -- has been arrested several times in the past and is currently serving a prison sentence in his native Cuba.

Considered a "prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International, he was handed a five-year sentence in 2022 for contempt and public disorder.

The artist was arrested on July 11, 2021 as he left his home in Havana to join the anti-government demonstrations that gathered thousands of Cubans demanding greater freedom and improved living conditions.

The Cuban regime says he isn't an artist but rather an agent of the United States, which they accuse of orchestrating demonstrations in order to destabilise the country.

Otero Alcantara's close friends and collaborators welcomed the award.

"I hope it is an impetus for people to turn their attention back to Cuban political prisoners, and for the international community to firmly oppose the Cuban dictatorship!" read a post on the artist's X account run by the curators of his work.

Otero Alcantara's girlfriend, Claudia Genlui, told AFP via WhatsApp message that "he was able to express to us how happy this award made him."

The recognition "is a ray of hope in the midst of all the pain, all the darkness that Luis Manuel is experiencing," she added.

According to official figures, some 500 Cubans have been sentenced to prison, some for up to 25 years, for their participation in the historic demonstrations on July 11 and 12 of 2021.

Human rights organisations and the US embassy believe there are upwards of 1,000 political prisoners on the island nation.

Created in 1987 and named after Norwegian historian and human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, the prize comes with $20,000.

In the past, it has been awarded to four people -- Aung San Suu Kyi, Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-Jung and Shirin Ebadi -- who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, also awarded in Norway.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on October 11 in Oslo.