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Tania Bruguera and several other Cuban artists were arrested in Havana on Monday after attempting to protest a new decree that they believe will curb creativity and strengthen censorship of culture in Cuba.
Tania, the most famous of the detainees, was arrested shortly after leaving the house in the morning and before arriving at the Ministry of Culture, where the artists wanted to demonstrate, said her mother, Algeria Fernandez, to Reuters.
The performer, who had previously been arrested for publicly protesting against the government, was released in the night, said Algeria, before immediately surrendering to the ministry to protest against the 39, arrest of other artists.
"All I can do is show solidarity," Tania wrote on her Facebook account early Monday morning, posting a photo of herself with a t-shirt wearing the inscription "No to Decree 349". "If you stop me, I'll go on a hunger strike and thirsty."
Tania was arrested again Monday night, according to Iris Ruiz, actress and coordinator of what has been a rare campaign in recent months against Decree 349, one of the first laws signed by Miguel Díaz-Canel since succeeded Raul Castro as President in April.
Algeria told Reuters that she could not locate her daughter, her mobile phone appearing to have been blocked by state security.
Brief arrests are the usual reaction to opposition protests in the country, which reject public dissent and view dissidents as mercenaries paid by the United States to overthrow the government.
Cuban authorities usually do not comment on such police activities.
Decree 349 due to come into force on Friday, the protesters decided to step up the campaign. They organized week – long events at the Ministry of Culture 's staircase, including poetry readings and presentations.
Iris stated that her husband, the poet Amaury Pacheco, and another artist had been arrested while they were arriving together at the ministry on Monday morning.
It was not possible to find three other artists also on the way to the stage, including the campaign leader, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, which suggests that they were also arrested, said Iris. Otero Alcántara's mobile phone seems to have been disconnected.
The Cuban authorities claim that the decree is only intended to prevent tax evasion and the spread of a pseudo-culture, claiming that the problem is handled by counter-revolutionaries.
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