Christian teenager released after three months in prison

The 17-year-old son of the Protestant pastors of an unregistered church in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, was released from a maximum-security prison for adults after more than three months in detention on 24 June.

Jonathan David Muir Burgos was arbitrarily detained alongside his father on 16 March, after he participated in peaceful protests in Morón. While his father, Pastor Elier Muir Ávila, was released on the same day, and despite Jonathan being 16 years old at the time, the government charged him with the crime of ‘sabotage’, a serious offence that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Both Jonathan and his father were detained after they voluntarily attended a police summons.

Jonathan was subsequently transferred to the Canaleta maximum-security adult prison, where he was subjected to psychological and physical torture and experienced a severe deterioration in his physical and mental health. He was denied adequate medical attention for severe dyshidrosis; he developed streptococcal and staphylococcal bacterial infections, and he suffered malnutrition due to a minimal diet, as well as vasovagal episodes and depression. His mother, Pastor Minervina Burgos López, reported that her son also experienced episodes of profound disorientation, where he would wake up not knowing where he was, and that he was unable to sleep due to bedbug bites.

To conceal his physical deterioration, the government circulated a photo of Jonathan playing the piano, which his family described as staged propaganda. His father told CSW that his imprisonment violated his ability to practice his faith, and Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience.

Following his release from prison, Jonathan, who turned 17 on 28 May, returned home under strict restrictions, including a ban on making in-person public statements. Although his family has not provided details about the sentence, this arrangement aligns with House Arrest (Reclusión Domiciliaria) under Article 36 of the Cuban Penal Code, which is commonly used as an alternative to imprisonment or as a modification of the sentence.

Another teenager from Morón, 16-year-old Christian de Jesús Crespo Álvarez, who was detained on 18 March, remains imprisoned in inhumane conditions.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘While CSW is relieved that Jonathan has been reunited with his parents, we strongly condemn the conditions under which he has been released, and maintain that his three-month imprisonment is a grave injustice. We call on the Cuban authorities to dismiss all unfounded charges against him, and to release Christian de Jesús Crespo Álvarez and all other prisoners of conscience immediately and without condition. We also urge the international community to condemn the Cuban government’s treatment of peaceful protesters, and particularly minors, in the strongest terms, and to hold those responsible to account accordingly.’