OSLO, Sept 19 (Askume) – The Norwegian Human Rights Foundation on Thursday awarded jailed Cuban dissident leader Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara its annual prize for his “bold opposition to dictatorship through the art principle”.
Four former Rafto Prize winners – Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, José Ramos-Horta of East Timor, Kim Dae-jung of South Korea, and Shirin Abadi of Iran – later received the Nobel Peace Prize award.
This year’s Peace Prize will be announced on October 11 in Oslo.
“The 2024 Rafto Prize aims to highlight the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and other artists in challenging power structures and defending democracy and human rights, in Cuba and globally,” the Norwegian foundation said in a statement.
In 2022, a Cuban court sentenced a dissident artist to five years in prison in a high-profile case that rights groups called a “farce” but which Cuban state media said was based on “ordinary crimes” and received a fair trial.
The 36-year-old artist is a prominent member of the San Isidro Movement in Havana, a group that has led numerous protests over two years. Many in the group later left Cuba, accusing the government of repression.
On Thursday, the Rafto Foundation called on the Cuban government to release him, with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International making similar demands.
The winner will receive a certificate and a prize of $20,000.
