Cuba dissident leaders face trial in tightly held proceedings

A police officer stops a car with diplomats from heading to the court house where Cuban leader of a dissident art collective Otero Alcantara and rapper Maykel Castillo stand trial for public disorder and defamation of public institutions and national symbols, in Havana, Cuba May 30, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - Two leading Cuban artist-dissidents faced their first day of trial on Monday after being detained nearly a year ago, part of an ongoing judicial process that human rights groups have called a "farce" and a "circus".

The activists, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and Maykel Castillo, are prominent members of the Havana-based San Isidro Movement, an artists collective that led several protests before many of the group left Cuba, alleging repression.