Cuban rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez jailed for defending human rights through his art on May 18, 2021 marked three years of unjust detention today

 #FreeMaykelOsorbo #PatriayVida #CubaIsADictatorship #FreedomForPoliticalPrisoners  

Prisoner of Conscience: Maykel Castillo Pérez

Maykel Castillo Pérez, a prisoner of conscience, artist, musician, and two-time Grammy winner, was imprisoned on May 18, 2021, marking three years of illegal captivity today. Eliexer Márquez Duany, better known as El Funky shared a Tweet demonstrating the repression suffered by Maykel prior to his arrest, and describing the circumstances of his arrest, and trial. Below is an English translation followed by the actual Tweet.

Today, May 18, 2024, Maykel marks 3 years of detention, sentenced to 9 years in prison by a rigged court. “This was the last photo I was able to take with him where you can see the high surveillance he had on his house for state security, and after a few hours they took him shirtless and barefoot.”

Hoy 18/mayo/ 2024,c cumplen 3 años d la dtenciòn d Maykel sentencia2 a 9 años d privación d libertad x un 3bunal amañado.”Esta fue la ultima📸q pude tirarme con el donde c ve la alta vigilancia k tenía n su casa x la S.E q después a las horas c lo llevaron sin camisa y descalzo” pic.twitter.com/p1WTkVRW9y

— El Funky (@elfunkycuba) May 18, 2024

Cuban curator, and a friend of Maykel's, Anamely Ramos González observed this anniversary, to demand Maykel's release with images of the Cuban artist living in freedom.

On May 18, 2021, Maykel Castillo (Osorbo) was taken from his house without a shirt and shoes and did not return. He is the only musician with two Grammys, imprisoned, because #CubaIsADictatorship. Today, however, we want to remember Maykel as in the second photos of the collage, free. #FreeMaykelOsorbo 

El 18 de mayo 2021 Maykel Castillo (Osorbo) fue sacado d su casa sin camisa y sin zapatos y no regresó. Es el único músico con 2 Grammy, preso, porque #CubaEsUnaDictadura
Hoy, sin embargo, queremos recordar a Maykel como en las segundas fotos del collage, libre.#FreeMaykelOsorbo pic.twitter.com/SQQj47cmU9

— Anamely Ramos González (@AnamelyRamos) May 18, 2024

Cuban prisoner of conscience Maykel Castillo Pérez “Osorbo” was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Castro regime on June 24, 2022. 

Fellow musician and collaborator "El Funky" released a new music video on May 13, 2023, Warrior, dedicated to his unjustly imprisoned friends Maykel and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara.

Today Amnesty International Tweeted a call to Miguel Diaz-Canel to free Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo.

Three years after the arrest of #MaykelOsorbo (@MaykelOsorbo349), we continue demanding the government of @DiazCanelB immediately and unconditionally release him.

Share for a #CubaWithoutRepression. 

Al cumplirse tres años de la detención de #MaykelOsorbo (@MaykelOsorbo349), seguimos demandando al gobierno de @DiazCanelB su liberación inmediata e incondicional.

Comparte por una #CubaSinRepresión. pic.twitter.com/3nBiP10qzv

— Amnistía Internacional Américas (@AmnistiaOnline) May 18, 2024

These international human rights organizations have been following his case closely. Amnesty International offered the following background information on Maykel on August 19, 2021.  

"Maykel Castillo Pérez,known by his stage name Maykel Osorbo, is a Cuban musician and human rights activist. He is one of the authors of “Patria y Vida”, a song critical of the Cuban government that has been adopted as a protest anthem. On 4 April 2021, Maykel was walking in Havana when police officers questioned him and attempted to arrest him but desisted in the face of complaints from other passersby who considered the action unjust."

Eight days later on April 12, 2021 Maykel was the victim of a physical assault engineered by the secret police. Maykel was assaulted in Havana by strangers as state security agents filmed the assault. Maykel Castillo denounced the incident on a live broadcast through Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara's social media where Maykel stated, "I'm a tough black," he said. "Not even a thousand beatings are going to make me cross my arms and close my mouth," he warned. He underscored the danger facing him, and the possible escalation of violence by the dictatorship, and his commitment to nonviolence. “If you break a bone, it stays broken. If I die for that, the fault will be yours, because you are a murderer, " he said, addressing the government. 

"On 18 May [2021], security agents arrived at his home and arrested him. He is being held at the Pinar del Río Provincial Prison under charges of 'assault', 'resistance', 'evasion of prisoners and detainees' and 'public disorder.'"

This is not his first time he was jailed for a matter of conscience. On September 21, 2018 Cuban rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez, "El Osorbo" protested against Decree 349/2018 during a show in Cuba. Decree 349 is a law that further restricts artistic freedoms in Cuba. Three days after the concert, he was detained by the Cuban secret police, and kept jailed. 

On March 20, 2019 Maykel was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, and learned of his sentence on April 22, 2019. He was released on October 23, 2019. 

Please spread the word on his plight, and the plight of hundreds of other Cubans jailed for exercising their freedom of expression. 

One final note, in addition to being a prisoner of conscience, artist, and musician, Maykel is also a father. Imagine 1,095 days kept away from your daughter in a grimy cell.