The case of the Five is the DNA
of a grand lie
• National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón, speaking at Pedagogy 2013 International Conference

THE rigged legal prosecution of the Five amounts to the DNA of a grand lie orchestrated by the United States. In this way, National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada defined the situation of the Cuban anti-terrorist fighters serving unjust prison terms in that country.

Alarcón was the main speaker on the third day of the Pedagogy 2013 International Conference, at which he updated those present about the case of Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, René González, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González.

He stated that the most important aspect of the battle for their liberation is overcoming the tyranny of media concealing and silencing the case, "when it constitutes an injustice which should make headlines around the world."

He described U.S. government actions against the Five as a "perfect storm" of hostility and prejudice. "None of them have been charged with affecting U.S. national security, but they were sentenced to maximum terms for the alleged crimes they were accused of," he noted.

He recalled that for close to 17 years the U.S. government has refused to disclose satellite images of February 24, 1996, when two light aircraft belonging to the terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue were brought down in national waters after violating Cuban airspace, an action for which Gerardo was unjustly convicted.

He emphasized the need to create a mass movement which will oblige President Barack Obama to rescind the Five’s sentences by means of a presidential pardon and to utilize all possible forums such as personal or group communication, academic interchanges and traditional and alternative media.

In the presence of Cuban Education Minister Ena Elsa Velázquez Cobiella and family members of the Five, educators, researchers and specialists participating in Pedagogy 2013 unanimously demanded the immediate return to their homeland of the anti-terrorist fighters and reaffirmed their commitment to the cause. (Information from AIN).