"WE never placed our hopes on the U.S. judicial system," but this day will be "marked forever as one of the most shameful in U.S. jurisprudence," Alicia Jrapko said told Granma newspaper via email, after learning about the June 15 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to review the case of the Cuban Five, the anti-terrorist fighters held as political prisoners in that country since September 12, 1998.

Jrapko, who lives in California and is an activist in the Free the Five movement, commented that "thousands of people all over the world are horrified by this latest infamy of the Barack Obama government," and she emphasized that "the responsibility of those of us who live in the United States is much greater, and our commitment should be greater" to ensure that Gerardo, Ramón, Fernando, Antonio and René are freed.

It was precisely in California, in San Francisco, that protesters marched in front of the Federal Building and Court, holding up placards with images of the Five and demands for justice.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A POLITICAL CASE

In Miami, the Alianza Martiana organization issued a statement saying that with its refusal to review the case, the Supreme Court is reaffirming what has been evident to millions of people in the world since the details of the trial of the Five became known, that "this is a case that has nothing to do with justice" and that "it is, and always has been, a political case."

The Alianza affirmed that since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the U.S. government "has maintained a policy of permanent aggression against the Cuban people."

"As we understand it, the only possible solution, which is the immediate release of the Five, is through a presidential order, which is a constitutional right of the president of the United States," the text emphasizes.

Meanwhile, messages and actions of support for this cause continue. From Ukraine, Manuel Lopez, a friend of Antonio Guerrero’s, told Granma of the indignation provoked in that country by this latest farce.

Marta Speroni, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, says that now is not the time to demobilize. And Rosa Bernal, a member of the Cuba Solidarity Association in Denia, Spain, noted that "in the end, we will find a way to free the Five."

Attorney Leonard Weinglass in the United States used the words "historic" and "unprecedented" to describe the submission on March 6 in Washington of 12 amicus curiae ("friends of the court") briefs urging the Supreme Court to review the case of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters.

However, despite the fact that world opinion made itself heard, urging an end to this tragic situation and the restoration of their rights to the Five, the Court, without any explanation whatsoever, made its decision, and the judges did what the Obama administration asked them to do.

That is why it is worth recalling in this context that today, June 17, just a few hours from the eighth anniversary of the message from the Five to the people of the United States, their words of then are still valid:

"The defendants in this trial are in no way repentant of what we have done to defend our country. We declare ourselves not guilty and simply take comfort in the fact that we have honored our duty to our people and our homeland. Our loved ones understand the depth of the ideas that guide us and they will take pride in our sacrifices for Humanity in this struggle against terrorism and for the independence of Cuba."

The San Francisco march. (Bill Hackwell)