Dissident artist, rapper sentenced to prison in Cuba

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Two members of a loose-knit group of dissident artists have been sentenced to prison in Cuba. The prosecutor’s office said Friday that Maikel Castillo was sentenced to nine years for attacks and defamation against the country’s institutions while Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara got five years for insulting national symbols. Both were involved with the so-called San Isidro Movement that had attracted unusually wide support among prominent Cuban artists. Castillo helped compose the Latin Grammy-winning song “Patria y Vida” — or “Fatherland and Life.” Its twist on the Communist Party slogan “Fatherland or Death! made it a sort of opposition anthem.