A 17-year-old son of church leaders has been released from prison in Cuba after spending more than three months in detention, according to watchdog charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Jonathan David Muir Burgos was arrested alongside his father in March after taking part in peaceful protests in the town of Morón. While his father was released the same day, Jonathan, who was 16 at the time, was charged with sabotage, an offence that can carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
CSW says Jonathan was held in an adult maximum-security prison, where he suffered serious health problems, including infections, malnutrition and depression. Amnesty International had designated him a prisoner of conscience.
Jonathan was released on 24th June but remains under strict restrictions, including a ban on making public statements in person. CSW says another 16-year-old arrested during the protests, Christian de Jesús Crespo Álvarez, is still in prison.
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."