HRF calls for the immediate release of Cuban political prisoner, 17 year-old Jonathan D. Muir Burgos and condemns the regime’s systematic use of arbitrary detention, torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners of conscience to retaliate against those who dare to speak out against tyranny on the island.

In March, Jonathan D. Muir Burgos, who was then 16 years old, was arbitrarily detained and sent to a maximum security prison despite being under-age, after he participated in a protest. Since then, the inhumane detention conditions and the physical and psychological torture inflicted by the regime has severely deteriorated his health.

Thousands of political prisoners face severe risks to their health as they endure inhumane treatment and torture. In May, Ernesto Brieva Sempé died in prison with grave signs of malnourishment, and his funeral was held under tight surveillance. He had been unlawfully detained for participating in the July 11, 2021 pro-democracy protests.

There are still more than 1200 political prisoners in Cuba, one of the most repressive regimes in the entire world, as it seeks to muzzle all attempts to voice criticism for the regime’s tyranny, corruption and mishandling of the country, including by inflicting a regime-made economic crisis that has been marked by goods shortages and power cuts for Years.