Danilo Maldonado "El Sexto" freed and back home in Cuba after 10 months

Prisoner of conscience freed but others remain imprisoned

Danilo Maldonado "El Sexto" freed yesterday in Cuba

 Danilo Maldonado "El Sexto" was arrested on December 25, 2014 for trying to carry out a perfomance art piece critical of the Castro brothers. Nearly 10 months later Danilo Maldonado is back home with his mom, who campaigned for his release, in the picture above. Sadly many otherzs are still behind bars, including at least one other artist, the rapper Maikel Castillo Pérez whose stage name is Maikel Oksobo - El Dkano.

 Maikel was sentenced to a year in prison in Havana on January 28, 2015. He was targeted for having used music to express his dissenting political opinions. Maikel was sentenced under a charge known as ‘peligrosidad predelictiva’ (‘pre-criminal dangerousness’).The 31-year-old’s lyrics are known for criticizing the Castro regime. He once described his style as that of someone who “doesn’t make concessions with a system full of liars.” In the video below 'Por ti señor' (For you Mister) the rapper challenges the record of Fidel Castro and describes how the dictator has failed Cubans.


 In August 2015 another rapper, El Funky, and a friend of Maikel made public the video " Pensar diferente en Cuba es un problema" (Thinking different in Cuba is a problem) calling for the jailed rapper's freedom.

#RaiseYourVoice for Cuba's prisoners of conscience and victims of regime violence

Please #RaiseYourVoice

Amnesty International is circulating an Urgent Action for Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto, and there are only 5 days and 11 hours remaining with 864 letters already sent out of a goal of 1,200.  Amnesty International in Australia provided more information on El Sexto's plight:

Meet Danilo Maldonaldo Machado, popularly known as El Sexto.

Danilo is a Cuban graffiti artist who campaigns for human rights through artistic work. He’s now in prison without charge for peacefully exercising his freedom of expression.
In 2014 Danilo was arrested by Cuban police for transporting two pigs to an art show with the names of Cuban leaders – ‘Raúl’ and ‘Fidel’ – painted on them. Officials accused Danilo of “aggravated contempt”, claiming that painting the pigs disrespected the Cuban leaders of the Revolution. Danilo was then imprisoned under the country’s harsh laws.

This is an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to silence political criticism.
Danilo continues to fight for freedom. He participated in two hunger strikes which were both cut short after officials allegedly assured him that he’d be released. This wasn’t the case. Danilo remains in prison and needs your help.

Danilo’s mother has asked Amnesty to help her son. Please stand up and demand his freedom.

The good news is that Danilo Maldonado's plight is resonating in the press with reports in the BBC, and the Amnesty International campaign for his release.

The bad news is that this is the tip of the iceberg with more than 300 arrests this past Sunday and three activists still jailed for addressing Pope Francis last month. Not to mention that Danilo is not the only artist behind bars in Cuba.

Maikel Castillo Pérez  stage name, El Dkano - Maikel Oksobo

On January 28, 2015, the rapper Maikel Castillo Pérez  stage name, El Dkano - Maikel Oksobo, was sentenced to a year in prison in Havana. He was targeted for having used music to express his dissenting political opinions. El Dkano was sentenced under a charge known as ‘peligrosidad predelictiva’ (‘dangerousness that is likely leading to a crime’), which is used to imprison dissidents for long terms. His defense attorney told a reporter from Diario de Cuba that prosecutors wanted the judge to sentence him to five years. The 31-year-old’s lyrics are known for criticizing the Castro regime. He once described his style as that of someone who “doesn’t make concessions with a system full of liars.”

It is of great importance not only to raise your voice for Cuba's prisoners of conscience but also for Cuba's dissidents who have been the victims of regime violence such as Sirley Ávila León who was the victim of a regime orchestrated machete attack on May 24, 2015 that led to the loss of her left hand and crippling machete blows to her right arm and both knees. There have been other attacks prior to this one targeting opposition activists.

Lastly, it is important to raise you voice and demand truth and justice in the extrajudicial killings of nonviolent activists such as Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante who were targeted and murdered by state security on July 22, 2012.

Castro Regime's Prisoners Pardon:The Devil is not only in the details

Some of the names not on the list

Innocent but imprisoned Cuban artists not on the list of pardoned prisoners

 The Castro regime announced on September 11th that "it plans to pardon 3,522 prisoners over the next 72 hours as a 'humanitarian' gesture." However, a number of factors point to a public relations maneuver with the dictatorship's nature remaining unchanged.

• First, Capitol Hill Cubans pointed out the timing of the sentencing of Leopoldo López Mendoza on September 10th by Havana's puppet regime in Caracas and the September 11th announcement. This is a coordinated, diversionary tactic.
• Secondly, Cuban dissident Antonio Rodiles observed over twitter that "the Cuban regime equates rapists and pedophiles with free thinking, civically engaged people" and concludes asking: "Where are the changes?" This pattern of seeking to slander nonviolent dissidents stretches back decades in Cuba and presently it can be seen in action in Venezuela. 
• Third, the Cuban dictatorship published a list of the 3,522 prisoners to be pardoned and no political prisoners are present, including those only charged with "dangerousness." 

 However, although not on the list, Andres Frometa Cuenca jailed on May 12, 1992, when he was 15 years old, for trying to "illegally leave" Cuba and being disrespectful of the regime appears to have been released.  Andres's name is not found in the June 2015 list of 71 political prisoners identified by the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation

A Denmark based NGO that focuses on artists imprisoned for their work has weighed in on the plight of two Cuban prisoners of conscience. Less than a month ago on August 28, 2015 the Denmark based nongovernmental organization, Free Muse, called for the release of two Cuban artists imprisoned for practicing their craft.

The Cuban graffiti artist and activist Danilo Maldonado Machado, best known as El Sexto, was arrested on 25 December 2014 while he was on his way to put on a performance art piece called ‘Rebelión en la Granja’ – the title in Spanish of George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm – which included two pigs decorated with the names Fidel and Raúl.

[...]

On 28 January 2015, the rapper Maikel Oksobo ‘El Dkano’ (real name: Maikel Castillo Pérez) was sentenced to a year in prison in Havana. It is generally believed he was targeted for having used music to express his dissenting political opinions. El Dkano was sentenced under a charge known as ‘peligrosidad predelictiva’ (‘dangerousness that is likely leading to a crime’)

Unfortunately, the drive to legitimize the Castro regime by the John Kerry State Department as part of the drive for normalization of relations has led to a focus by the international media on state to state relations while under reporting grassroots opposition initiatives.

For example on January 15, 2015 with the support of over 200 activists from throughout Cuba, the Forum for Rights and Freedoms (The Forum) came into existence.  15 opposition groups, various independent journalists, artists and activists founded this initiative. One of the main campaigns of The Forum is an Amnesty Law for Cuba’s political prisoners. They have followed up on this by exercising their right to demonstrate peacefully with regular protests demanding amnesty. The repression has been violent and at times brutal.

Members of The Forum are engaged in gathering signatures for a letter to Pope Francis to intercede on behalf of the artist Danilo Maldonado, mentioned above. In pursuit of their campaign for a amnesty law for political prisoners they will once again be out marching this Sunday. Please follow them on social media by the hashtag #TodosMarchamos (We All March).

Rapper in Rapper Out: Castro's Revolving Prison Door for Dissenters

The rapper El Critico was released on January 9, 2015 and 21 days later the rapper El Dkano took his place in the revolving prison being sentenced on January 28 to a year in prison for "pre-criminal dangerousness."

Free Muse report on February 4, 2015 reported on another jailed Cuban rapper

El Dkano (real name: Maikel Oksobo)

On 28 January 2015, the rapper El Dkano (real name: Maikel Oksobo) was sentenced to a year in prison in Havana. It is generally believed he was targeted for having used music to express his dissenting political opinions.

El Dkano was sentenced under a charge known as ‘peligrosidad predelictiva’ (‘dangerousness that is likely leading to a crime’), which is used to imprison dissidents for long terms. His defense attorney told a reporter from Diario de Cuba that prosecutors wanted the judge to sentence him to five years.
The 31-year-old’s lyrics are known for criticising the Castro regime. He once described his style as that of someone who “doesn’t make concessions with a system full of liars.”

“Unjust charge”

“Cuba over the years has produced and supported many great artists, but it is appalling that the Cuban authorities continue to repress artists, who are addressing serious problems,” said Ole Reitov, Freemuse Executive Director. “A solid state system should not fear but stimulate artistic freedom and live up to international conventions guaranteeing freedom of speech.”

American Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said during a House Foreign Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., that the Castro regime is once again slapping a Cuban rapper with an unjust charge.
As part of the Obama-Castro deal of 17 December 2014, another imprisoned rapper, El Critico (real name: Ángel Yunier Remón) was recently released from prison.

Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado (‘El Sexto’) remains imprisoned since Christmas Day 2014 and is currently in poor health, battling pneumonia in the Valle Grande Prison.


» Local 10 – 4 February 2015:
Miami Republican shows concern for Cuban rappers’ lack of freedom


» AmericaTevé – 29 January 2015:
Condenan a un año de cárcel a rapero contestatario


» Capitol Hill Cubans – 28 January 2015:
Cuban Dissident Rapper Gets One-Year Prison Sentence Today


» Diario de Cuba – 28 January 2015:
Condenan a un año de cárcel al rapero contestatario Maikel Oksobo


» Diario de Cuba – 28 January 2015:
Música contestataria y corrupción judicial