• WASHINGTON.– Recent documents filed by two of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States substantiate the manipulation of their original trial and their innocence, according to activist Gloria de la Riva.

In a telephone interview with the Prensa Latina news agency, the member of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five emphasized that the affidavit filed by Gerardo Hernández in the Miami federal court "demonstrates the irrefutable truth and his innocence" of the charges levied against him.

"I came to Florida in service to my country, unarmed, to contribute to ending violence against my people and therefore to save lives. That I would be charged with a conspiracy to murder was the furthest thing from my thinking and reality. It is my hope that this writing assists the Court in its efforts to find the truth and restore justice," Gerardo declares.

He says in the document that it had never been explained to him until this point that, "under United States law, I could have requested a separate trial on the conspiracy to murder charge alone in order to testify and present evidence pertinent to that count."

"I had no prior experience in the U.S. court system and was unaware that a severance would have allowed for such presentation. Had I known that, I would have insisted that my lawyer make every effort to secure a separate trial on that count," the text continues.

La Riva noted that in the document, Gerardo explains for the first time, in his own words, his absolute innocence on all counts and his unjust conviction for conspiracy to commit murder, in relation to the downing of aircraft belonging to the terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.

The legal document presented by Antonio Guerrero is a memorandum supporting a motion to vacate the Five’s convictions and sentences.

The activist commented that the text, 25 pages in length, concentrates mainly on the recent discovery of details related to the media campaign against the Five orchestrated by the U.S. government and Miami journalists.

The text emphasizes that a fundamental violation of the premises of a fair trial occurred when Washington secretly paid influential journalists tens of thousands of federally funded dollars to attack the Five on Radio and TV Martí, as well as on other broadcasts and newspapers devoted to anti-Cuba propaganda, she underscored.

During a telephone conference, John Nichols, university professor and expert witness during U.S. Congressional hearings about Television and Radio Martí, confirmed that it would be impossible for anyone linked to the Cuban revolution to get a fair or impartial trial in Miami.

Nichols described the links between the Miami press and the U.S. government during the trial of the Cuban Five.

Referring to the payments made by authorities to the media to negatively influence the proceedings against the five anti-terrorist fighters, the expert indicated that that was "unethical and illegal," according to La Riva, who also reported that the Committee had paid tribute to Attorney Leonard Weinglass, outstanding activist and defender of civil rights in the U.S. for his work throughout the appeal process, specifically in the preparation of motion 2255 for his defendant Antonio Guerrero, and his legal advice regarding the affidavit filed by Gerardo Hernández.