Cuban artist jailed without trial for painting pigs 'Raul' and 'Fidel' awaits release

Cuban artist jailed without trial for painting pigs 'Raul' and 'Fidel'
awaits release

Porcine protest led to eight months in prison for artist El Sexto

By Telegraph reporter11:02PM BST 05 Oct 2015
A Cuban artist who was sent to jail without trial for painting the words
'Raul' and 'Fidel' on a pair of pigs could be released in the coming weeks.

In December 2014 graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado - who goes by the name
El Sexto (The Sixth) - was planning to release the pigs in central
Havana as part of a protest against the Socialist regime of the Castro
brothers.

However, he was stopped en route to Central Park by police and thrown
into prison without trial for "disrespecting the leaders of the
revolution". He has been there for the past eight months.
Last week Amnesty International named him as Cuba's only prisoner of
conscience and demanded his release, according to the Times.
Carolina Jiménez, Amnesty's Americas deputy director, said: "To jail an
artist for painting a name on a pig is ludicrous."
El Sexto ended a month-long hunger strike on Oct 1 after he was told he
would be released in 15 days. Amnesty is calling on the Cuban government
to honour that promise.

His imprisonment comes as the US prepares to normalise ties with Cuba.

Amnesty Caribbean @AICaribbean
Update #ElSexto: Cuban artist ends hunger strike after promise release
Must be NOW http://ow.ly/SUL5j
1:05 AM - 2 Oct 2015

Source: Cuban artist jailed without trial for painting pigs 'Raul' and
'Fidel' awaits release - Telegraph -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/11913594/Cuban-artist-jailed-without-trial-for-painting-pigs-Raul-and-Fidel-awaits-release.html