Hunger striking artist in Cuba arrives at hospital

A Cuban dissident artist who claimed he was on hunger strike after accusing the government of stealing some of his artworks was taken to hospital on Sunday.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara arrived at the Calixto García Hospital in Havana at dawn getting out of an ambulance on his own and walking into the hospital.

Cuban authorities released a short video showing his arrival and also published a communique from the Ministry of Health saying Otero Alcántara arrived without "signs of malnutrition" and "with the presence of normal clinical and biochemical parameters".

For a week Otero Alcántara protested against the government and state security saying he was on a hunger strike and not taking food nor liquids, accusing the government of having taken art works from his home.

The AP could not independently verify the hunger strike.

The official statement indicated that he arrived at the health center "in medical transport, in a conscious state, and walking without difficulty" and his evolution is "stable."

This is the second time in less than six months that Otero Alcántara has carried out a protest of this type.

Last November, the action was the catalyst for a group of intellectuals and artists to demonstrate at the doors of the Ministry of Culture requesting a dialogue to secure more room in Cuban society for independent art.

Authorities routinely regard dissidents as "mercenaries" and often show dissidents or their sponsors being paid by interest groups in the United States with an anti-revolution agenda.

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