Unjust convictions against José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and rapper Nando OBDC must be overturned
Cuba
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 January 2026
Civil Rights Defenders, ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, PEN Cuba in Exile, and PEN International strongly condemn the prison sentences imposed on the Cuban writer and independent journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, and the rapper, artist and activist Fernando Almenares Rivera (known as Nando OBDC). Both cases demonstrate the systematic use of Cuba’s criminal justice system to punish the exercise of freedom of expression and artistic expression.
On 15 January 2026, the Provincial People’s Court of Villa Clara publicised the six-year prison sentence against José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, finding him guilty of the offence of “public disorder” and imposing the maximum penalty requested by prosecutors. By criminalising his participation in a peaceful protest and the practice of independent journalism, this ruling constitutes a grave violation of his fundamental rights and reflects a further escalation in the Cuban authorities’ systemic repression of peaceful dissent and freedom of expression.
Barrenechea was detained on 8 November 2024 following his participation in a peaceful protest in Encrucijada, Villa Clara. Although he was accused of allegedly leading the demonstration, video evidence shows that he neither engaged in violence nor incited disorder. Both his detention and his trial, held in late September 2025, raised serious concerns regarding transparency and violations of due process.
Barrenechea is currently held at La Pendiente prison in Santa Clara, and his health has significantly deteriorated since his arrest. He has suffered from severe malnutrition, infections, sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression. The cruelty of his imprisonment was compounded when authorities denied him the right to say goodbye to his mother, who was suffering from cancer and passed on 4 May 2025.
Meanwhile, on 19 January 2026, it was made public that the rapper Fernando Almenares Rivera, known as Nando OBDC, was sentenced to five years in prison for the alleged offence of propaganda against the constitutional order, in relation to his artistic expression in August 2024, when he displayed messages critical of those in power in the city of Havana, including “Cuba First in the Streets for Human Rights.”
The conviction confirms how the Cuban authorities continue to persecute creators who use art as a form of social protest. Since his provisional detention on 31 December 2024, Nando OBDC has been held at the Cuba–Panamá prison in the province of Mayabeque, where he went on a hunger strike in July 2025. His conviction and imprisonment are an example of the authorities’ misuse of the legal system to silence a critical artistic expression.
The persecution of José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and Fernando Almenares Rivera, Nando OBDC are emblematic of a broader pattern of censorship and repression against writers, artists, journalists, and activists in Cuba. Independent voices continue to face surveillance, harassment, censorship, arbitrary detention, and prison sentences.
Initiatives such as the Voces Presas campaign show the growing number of imprisoned artists and writers in Cuba, while the joint report Método Cuba exposes how state authorities routinely use judicial harassment, criminal charges, and punitive prison sentences as tools to silence dissent and force critics into exile.
Civil Rights Defenders, ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, PEN Cuba in Exile, and PEN International demand the immediate and unconditional release of José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and Nando OBDC, as well as the annulment of their unjust convictions. Likewise, we urge the Cuban authorities to immediately end harassment against artists and writers and to comply with their international human rights obligations, including the rights to freedom of expression, artistic freedom, and peaceful assembly and protest.
We also call on the international community to continue supporting efforts to expose the systematic repression against artists, writers, and journalists in Cuba, and to reject narratives that seek to silence the practice of art, music, and independent journalism in the country.
No more #VocesPresas
About ARC
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection is an international organization committed to promoting and advancing the right to artistic freedom worldwide. Founded in 2017, ARC works to protect artists and cultural workers who are at risk because of their creative expression, often connected to their identities or roles within their communities. By providing vital resources and support, ARC helps artists at risk overcome challenges like persecution, censorship, threats, and violence from both state and non-state actors—whether for their artistic expression or the broader impact they have on cultural, social, and political issues.
Learn more: artistsatriskconnection.org
About CRD
CRD – Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent human rights organisation. Founded as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in 1982, we partner with and support human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions. Our vision is a world of democratic societies in which we all enjoy our civil and political rights.
Learn more: crd.org
About PEN International
PEN International is the foremost and largest association of writers that stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression around the world. Founded in London in 1921, PEN International connects an international community of writers. PEN operates across five continents through over 130 centres, in over a hundred countries. It is a forum where writers meet freely to discuss their work; it is also a voice speaking out for writers silenced in their own countries. PEN International works to promote the PEN Charter to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to impart information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others.
Learn more: www.pen-international.org