Havana Provincial Court Delays Habeas Corpus Decision for Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

The Havana Provincial People's Court has exceeded the legal 72-hour deadline this Thursday without issuing a verdict on the habeas corpus petition submitted for the artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who remains under state custody despite having fully served his sentence.

Instead of providing a resolution, the court stated that the case remains "under processing," according to the human rights organization Cubalex, which filed the petition on July 13.

Cubalex argues that the delay is not due to administrative reasons but is a deliberate decision.

"The court intentionally extends the legal timeframe to force Luis Manuel’s release to be contingent upon his permanent and immediate departure from the country," Cubalex warned in a statement released this Thursday.

The organization suggests that authorities aim to buy time so that if Otero Alcántara leaves Cuba before a judicial ruling, the petition could be deemed moot, arguing that his release was a "voluntary decision" by the individual affected.

Continued Detention Despite Sentence Completion

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara completed his five-year prison sentence on July 9 but has not regained his freedom.

Two days prior, on July 7, State Security agents removed him from the maximum-security prison in Guanajay, Artemisa, without informing his family of his destination or the reasons for the transfer.

Since then, he has been held incommunicado under state custody, a situation that Cubalex and Amnesty International describe as a forced disappearance.

The only known contact occurred on July 9, when activist Anamely Ramos managed to speak briefly with him via a phone controlled by State Security. During that conversation, Otero Alcántara confirmed his detention and mentioned being questioned about his humanitarian parole application to travel to the United States.

Cubalex maintains that keeping him detained after serving his sentence "lacks a criminal basis" and constitutes arbitrary detention, violating the Constitution, Penal Code, and the Law of Penal Execution in Cuba.

Challenges in Filing the Petition

The organization also reported that the process to file the habeas corpus was fraught with numerous obstacles.

On July 10, several courts were closed despite it being a working day, and an activist who attempted to submit the petition was detained and held for two days.

Subsequently, documents sent via email to official addresses were blocked or ignored until the petition was finally submitted on July 13 to the Havana Provincial Court.

Cubalex claims that the closure of the courts has also hindered filing complaints to the People's Supreme Court, limiting the procedural guarantees provided by Cuban law.

International Pressure for Answers

This is not the first instance of Cuban justice refusing to act in favor of the artist. An initial habeas corpus was dismissed by the Artemisa Provincial Court on March 23, a decision that the People's Supreme Court upheld on April 7, while also denying parole benefits or a pardon.

Meanwhile, the case has reached the international stage. The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances activated Urgent Action 2357/2026 on July 9, requesting the Cuban state to report on Otero Alcántara's whereabouts and condition by July 25.

Cubalex concluded their complaint by demanding that authorities respect due process and immediately release the artist, asserting that there is no longer a legal basis to keep him in custody.