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14ymedio: the IACHR again asks Cuba's government for information on teenager Jonathan Muir
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights gave Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez 90 days to respond on the case of the 17-year-old prosecuted over the March protests in Morón, for whom prosecutors are seeking seven years in prison.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has sent a new formal request for information to the Cuban government on the case of Jonathan David Muir Burgos, the teenager prosecuted over the March protests in Morón, in Ciego de Ávila province, according to 14ymedio. The body is asking Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to submit any observations he considers relevant within 90 days, to be added to the file monitoring the precautionary measures granted to the young man.
Muir is 17 and was 16 at the time of the events, on March 13, when hundreds of residents of Morón took to the streets over prolonged blackouts and worsening living conditions. The demonstration ended with the takeover of the municipal Communist Party headquarters, which some protesters set on fire. A total of 19 people have been charged over those events with sedition and other offences, among them several women and minors.
Prosecutors are seeking seven years in prison for the teenager on a sabotage charge. The request became known on October 19, along with requests of up to 13 years for other defendants. He has been under house arrest since his release from prison on June 24, which came after repeated appeals from human rights organisations and foreign officials.
The IACHR had granted him precautionary measures on April 24, finding that his life, physical integrity and health were at risk of irreparable harm in the custody of the Cuban state. Amnesty International called in May for his immediate release and denounced the fact that he was held with adults, recalling that depriving minors of liberty should be a last resort and for the shortest possible period.
"The priority right now must be Jonathan's protection. We value the fact that the Inter-American Commission is continuing to follow his case and has formally requested a response from the Cuban state," Juan Carlos Vargas, executive director of one of the organisations supporting the case, told the independent outlet ADN, in remarks translated by Yamacoa. He called for guarantees of the teenager's physical integrity, liberty and right to due process.
During his time in the Canaleta provincial prison, his family denounced the poor conditions he was held in, while government media circulated photographs of the minor playing the piano inside the jail. His father denounced the publication of those images without consent and said prison authorities had promised the young man a visiting day as a reward.
Sources: 14ymedio
Data updated: 2026-11-07T04:15:00.000Z