Amnesty International declares jailed Cuban artist El Sexto as a prisoner of conscience

El Sexto

Amnesty International has declared Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado -- better known as El Sexto -- a prisoner of conscience after he was arrested not long after he posted on Facebook a video in which he mocked the death of the dictator Fidel Castro, according to Martinoticias.com.

El Nuevo Herald has details of the arrest:

In the video, shot with a cell phone selfie-style, Maldonado refers to Castro as a yegua(mare) and calls on the public to celebrate the former leader’s death.

“Here we are, three hours after the death of the mare,” Maldonado says in the seven-minute video. “...We need people to come out to the streets...and ask for liberty...”

Speaking Spanish, he goes on to criticize those feigning sadness over Castro’s death and ends the broadcast by spraying “El Sexto” onto a wall at the Hotel Habana Libre where Castro took up temporary residence following his triumphant march into Havana in 1959.

Relatives said Maldonado is being held without charges at a police station in Guanabacoa, a municipality on the outskirts of Havana.

Amnesty said El Sexto was arrested because he exercised his right of free expression, and demanded the government immediately released him, according to the Martinoticias report.

Other sources reported that El Sexto has been beaten while in jail, and that the official reason for his arrest is connected to the graffiti on the hotel.

UPDATE: @dmmelsexto 's mother finally visits him in Guanabacoa where he was BADLY BEATEN, accusations are tied to graffiti #FreeElSexto

— Alexandra Martinez (@alex____mar) November 30, 2016

Amnesty previously recognized El Sexto as a prisoner of conscience after he was arrested after he attempted to carry out a performance art event in 2014 featuring two pigs painted in green with the names “Fidel” and “Raúl. He was released in October 2015, after 10 months in jail.