Cuban Rapper Who Really Sewed His Own Mouth Shut... "Resisting Abuse While Incarcerated"

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A rapper in Cuba who was sentenced to prison for anti-government activities sewed his upper and lower lips shut as a form of protest against the abuse he endured during incarceration.

According to the Cuban independent media outlet '14ymedio' on the 19th (local time), Maikel Castillo, known as 'El Osorbo,' a famous anti-government artist in Cuba, recently sewed his upper and lower lips shut by himself in a prison located in Pinar del R?o.

A rapper who was sentenced to prison for anti-government activities in Cuba sewed his upper and lower lips shut as a form of protest against the abuse he endured during incarceration.
[Photo by Maykel Osorbo, Instagram]

Moreover, Castillo tattooed the words "Patria y Vida" (Homeland and Life) on his forearm. "Patria y Vida" is a song created by musicians resisting the Cuban regime, twisting the slogan of Cuban communist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, "Patria o Muerte" (Homeland or Death). Currently, this song has become a symbolic anti-government slogan representing resistance in Cuba.

This fact was revealed through social networking services (SNS) reporting on El Osorbo's situation. The Instagram account posted a photo of El Osorbo with his upper and lower lips stitched together with thread, firmly closing his mouth.

On July 11, 2021 (local time), a large-scale anti-government protest took place in downtown Havana, Cuba.
[Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

The post also included the phrase, "In the face of injustice, I will neither fold my arms nor close my mouth."

A friend who spoke with El Osorbo on the phone claimed on SNS, "During the unjust detention process, including false rumors that El Osorbo organized riots with colleagues, he endured harsh punishments and food restrictions. The abuses varied, such as denying timely medical support or refusing to hand over medical records to the family," they said.

Cuban protesters shouting anti-government slogans against the Cuban government in 2021. [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

El Osorbo, along with visual artist Otero Alc?ntara, is one of Cuba's leading resistance artists and a member of the anti-government artist group 'San Isidro Movement.'

He was arrested during a large-scale anti-government protest against President Miguel D?az-Canel in 2021 and was sentenced last year to nine years in prison on charges including hate crimes, assault, disruption of public order, and defamation of state institutions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.