FREEDOM FOR THE FIVE POLITICAL PRISONERS OF THE EMPIRE

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Index | Judicial Process and Prison -- International Solidarity -- Terrorism against the Island -- Testimony by the heroes
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Alarcón on the “Roundtable” program
We have to keep up the fight for the release of the Five

BY ROBERTO PEREZ BETANCOURT

 THE battle for the release of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters, political prisoners in the United States, continues to be active in order to inform people of the truth about a case in which the U.S. government and authorities involved in it have perverted the course of justice, affirmed Ricardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power (Cuban Parliament).

The likewise member of the Political Bureau of the Party exposed the pettifogging activities of the U.S. government via the district attorney’s office and other governmental agencies, and offered current details on the appeal process during the Cuban TV and radio “Roundtable” program this Thursday, which also included contributions by other experts.

On July 24, the defense lawyers presented their arguments against the ruling of last June 4 and 5 by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which ratified the guilty verdicts against the Five.

This authority revoked the sentences handed down to Fernando González (19 years), Ramón Labañino (life plus 19 years), and Antonio (Tony) Guerrero (life plus 10 years) and returned their cases to the trial judge, that is to say, Judge Joan Lenard of the Miami Dade Federal District, in order to pronounce new sentences.

Likewise, the aforementioned court maintained the sentences previously handed down to René González and Gerardo Hernández.

Alarcón specified that the crime of corruption is evident, given malicious failure to comply with the law or culpable ignorance of public functions, as well as the fraudulent justice meted out by the judge, all of which can be appreciated in relation to the officials who have been involved in the case of the Five since they were first imprisoned in the United States in 1998.

Regarding the latest denial of visas to Olga Salanueva (wife of René González), and Adriana Pérez (wife of Gerardo Hernández) by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Alarcón explained that the former has received notice that she is “ineligible” after having been expelled from the United States, and that Adriana had been refused a visa on eight previous occasions.

He mentioned the case of Tony Guerrero and how, during a recent visit from his sister and his son, the authorities closed the prison and they were unable to complete their visits. They now have to wait for another visa to be granted, something he described as the imposition of additional and illegal punishment for the prisoner and his relatives, toward whom the authorities have acted in a mean and base fashion.

The deliberate actions of the district attorney’s office and other U.S. government agencies were exposed throughout the duration of the program, which also included testimonies from lawyer Roberto González, brother of René, and Leonard Weinglass, the U.S. defense lawyer, who gave a report during a video linkup of the latest steps in the appeal process.

Weinglass explained that they had requested a new hearing on the basis that the decisions adopted by the appeal court on June 4 & 5 were based on erroneous information and pure fiction, not real facts, and also on a defective application of law.

He went into detail about the trial and affirmed his expectation that the new court ruling will take only a few weeks, and not months.

Lawyer Roberto González explained that they are appealing the decision to ratify the charge of conspiracy to commit murder against Gerardo Hernández, on which the three appeal judges had ruled differently. He also explained operational and legal details.

The program also included a clip of statements by the prestigious Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán who, after attending the aforementioned hearing where he listened to judges and lawyers – both prosecution and defense – reached the conclusion that the Five are innocent and deemed that the government of the U.S. has a political interest in condemning them.

During the broadcast, presenter Randy Alonso recalled that July 31 is the second anniversary of President Fidel Castro’s declaration to the Cuban people, where he called for the nation to continue forward with the Battle of Ideas. A clip of his appearance was broadcast and, among other denunciations, he cited the complicity of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations in protecting the mafia in that country.

Journalist Arleen Rodríguez discussed the contents of the book La mala conducta, inspired by Fidel and based on a public meeting on the case of the Five held on August 20, 2007, which was attended by prominent jurists from all over the world. •
 

U.S. definitively denies visa to Olga Salanueva, wife of one of the Cuban Five
July 23, 2008
For the ninth time, and now permanently, the U.S. government has denied a visa to Olga Salanueva, wife of Cuban patriot René González, one of the five anti-terrorist fighters serving prison sentences in that country.

The release of the Five must be a political decision
July 17, 2008
“THE question of the Five is a question of Cuba that goes beyond us as a family; it is a question of the Revolution and it is a subject for Cuban revolutionaries, together with the solidarity of men and women of goodwill,” said attorney Roberto González, speaking to members of the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan who traveled to the island to show their opposition to the U.S. blockade and their support for freedom for the anti-terrorist fighters.

Parliamentarians from continent call for freedom for the Five
July 8, 2008
IN Panama, parliamentarians from 15 Latin American and Caribbean nations called on the U.S. government yesterday to immediately release the five Cuban anti-terrorists imprisoned in that country since 1998.
 


ADDRESS OF PRISONERS

ANTONIO
GUERRERO
RODRÍGUEZ

FERNANDO
GONZÁLEZ
LLORT

GERARDO
HERNÁNDEZ
NORDELO

RAMÓN
LABAÑINO
SALAZAR

RENÉ
GONZÁLEZ
SEHWERERT

Index | Judicial Process and Prison -- International Solidarity -- Terrorism against the Island -- Testimony by the heroes
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