Maykel CASTILLO PÉREZ

Cuban musician and rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez, widely known by the name ‘Maykel Osorbo’, continued serving a nine-year prison term in the high security 5 y Medio prison in Pinar del Río after his conviction on 24 June 2022 of charges including ‘contempt, attack, public disorder and defamation of institutions and organisations’. He has been held since 18 May 2021 and has received threats from other inmates (see Case List 2023/2024, 2022 and 2021). 

On 18 April 2024, Osorbo reported being viciously assaulted by prison officers, resulting in an injury in his left ear, with subsequent additional violence by authorities leading to a significant deterioration in his health. In a letter made public on 3 May 2024, Osorbo said he fears for his safety in prison. 

Osorbo was granted precautionary measures on 11 February 2021 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has concluded that Osorbo is detained arbitrarily solely for his pro-democracy activism and has urged his immediate release. 

Osorbo, born in 1983, is co-author, alongside other Cuban musicians, of ‘Patria y Vida‘ (‘Homeland and Life’), a song that, since its release in February 2021, has served as an anthem during anti-government demonstrations across the island. The song received two Latin Grammy Awards.