News · Rights
House arrest imposed on the daughter of tattoo artist Oscar Echevarría, by her account
Aitana Echevarría Rivero told Martí Noticias that judicial authorities in Sancti Spíritus imposed house arrest on her as a precautionary measure after she was summoned to testify about the events of October 10, when her father, tattoo artist Oscar Echevarría, and his wife were detained.
By her own account, the young woman was summoned on Thursday to testify at the Provincial Unit for Crimes against State Security, where she was told of the measure. “I was summoned to the Vivac, where the State Security bodies are based. The interrogators were all in plain clothes. They want to pin on me the offenses of contempt, incitement to commit a crime and public disorder,” she told Martí Noticias, in remarks translated by Yamacoa, adding that the house arrest will stay in place “until the case closes.” She also said she went in voluntarily.
The summons relates to the events of October 10, when the family backed the tattoo artist and objected to the police operation that ended with the arrest of Oscar Echevarría, who had been protesting from the roof of his home, and of his wife, Cleidys García. The couple was charged with contempt and taken in pretrial detention to the Nieves Morejón prison, in the same province.
An aunt of the young woman, who lives in the United States, told the same outlet that the case stemmed from a video of the protest posted on Facebook, in which another voice can be heard shouting phrases against the regime, and she maintained that the voice is her niece’s. The relative called the measure arbitrary: “She deserves no punishment at all because she did not disrespect anyone. She did not commit any crime,” in remarks translated by Yamacoa.
In Cuba the offense of contempt is applied to citizens who publicly question officials’ conduct and is defined as an affront to the dignity or decorum of the authorities, with penalties that are harsher when the alleged affront targets senior figures such as the head of state or ministers. Neither the Sancti Spíritus authorities nor state media have commented on the case, and no other outlet has confirmed the precautionary measure.
Sources: Martí Noticias
Data updated: 2026-10-23T04:15:00.000Z