CAMPAIGN FOR THE RELEASE OF LUIS MANUEL OTERO ALCANTARA AND Maykel Osorbo

Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces in Canada joins the global campaign calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Cuban artists and human rights defenders Luís Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maikel Osorbo as well as all Cuban political prisoners.

Words and ideas only constitute crimes in dictatorships. Luis Manuel Otero and Maykel Osorbo face a fiscal petition of 7 and 10 years for exercising fundamental human rights such as a freedom of speech, freedom of association and peaceful protests. These are human rights endorsed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There are more than 1,000 political prisoners in Cuba, a figure higher than Venezuela and Nicaragua. Political imprisonment constitutes the biggest human drama experienced by Cuban families today. We encourage all freedom defenders in Canada and around the world to join this campaign of solidarity.