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The Cuban human rights organization Cubalex reported this Thursday on the revictimization of the teenager Jonathan David Muir Burgos, 16 years old, who is imprisoned in the maximum-security prison of Canaleta in Ciego de Ávila, following the publication of a photograph of him by the official media Razones de Cuba.
The image, disseminated by that propaganda platform of State Security, shows the minor playing a musical keyboard inside the prison, accompanied by the message: “The piano doesn’t lie. The photo is there. And Jonathan… there he is, safe and sound, with his little hands on the keys.”
Cubalex rejected that narrative and pointed out that the photograph, far from demonstrating well-being, shows Jonathan shaved, in an obvious state of thinness and behind bars, in an environment of total control that is only accessible to the authorities.
The organization characterized the publication as a form of re-victimization: the use of an image of a minor in a vulnerable situation without the consent of their parents, aimed at creating a narrative of normalcy that obscures the actual conditions of their confinement.
The father of the teenager, the evangelical pastor Elier Muir Ávila, denounced the regime's manipulation and revealed that the authorities deceived his son by promising him "a day visit as a reward" in exchange for playing the piano in front of other inmates, and that they took photos and videos without consent.
"They used him, took his picture, recorded video, even noted the blood type of the boy to carry out these horrendous acts. I denounce them, I denounce all of them," stated Elier Muir Ávila.
The pastor also pleaded with the world: "Please, I ask the entire world not to allow such injustice; my child is not a criminal; my child is a teenager who is very sick and needs to be released now to receive treatment."
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which granted precautionary measures to the adolescent through Resolution 30/2026 on April 24, had already warned that the authorities may have recorded images of Jonathan "presumably with the intent of constructing a public narrative that distorts the actual conditions of his detention."
The Cuban regime did not respond to the prior request sent by the IACHR on April 10.
Jonathan was arrested on March 16 when he went with his father to a police summons, days after participating in the March 13 protests in Morón, triggered by power outages of more than 26 hours daily and extreme food shortages.
On April 1, he was transferred without notice to his family to Canaleta, an adult prison, and the following day the Municipal Prosecutor's Office of Morón formally charged him with sabotage, a crime that can carry a prison sentence of seven to 15 years.
The adolescent's health condition is alarming according to family reports: he receives only one meal a day in a disposable cup, suffers from severe dyshidrosis, infections caused by streptococcus and staphylococcus, and two intestinal parasites without medical attention.
Her mother, the pastor Minervina Burgos López, pleaded for her son's freedom on April 25, reporting that the young man suffers from vasovagal crises: "He falls asleep, and when he wakes up, he is disoriented, doesn't remember where he is, and cannot locate himself properly."
In a desperate call at 1:45 AM on April 23, Jonathan pleaded with his father, "Dad, please, get me out of here, dad, I can't take it anymore."
Cubalex points out that Jonathan is not alone: at least five minors were detained in Cuba following the protests in March, and two remain imprisoned: Jonathan and Cristian Crespo Álvarez, also 16 years old.
The organization demands the immediate release of Jonathan, the cessation of the transfer of minors to common prisons, guarantees for family contact and effective defense, and independent monitoring of the case.
The U.S. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart demanded the release of the teenager last Tuesday with these words: "No minor should be persecuted or imprisoned for raising their voice against a dictatorship!"
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