The National Committee for the Release of five
Cuban anti-terrorist fighters, unfairly
imprisoned in US jails, called to stage
demonstrations in several US cities, responding
to the verdict of a federal appeals court.
In a press release, the organization urged
followers to organize marches in New York, Los
Angeles, Boston, Miami, Detroit and other cities
on Thursday and Friday, to demand the freedom of
those men.
The call also exhorts to stage protests in front
of federal government's buildings, US embassies,
consulates and other dependencies abroad.
The organization also states that the panel of
three judges assigned by the 11th Circuit Court
of Appeals, in an unusual verdict, denied the
Five's defense team an appeal, and confirmed all
charges for which the five men have been
sentenced.
Among those are conspiracies to spying and
commit murder. Ramon Labañino, Fernando
Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernandez
and Rene Gonzalez have been serving harsh
sentences in US prisons since September 12,
1998, for merely defending their country from
violent actions by anti-Cuban groups settled in
that northern nation.
They sentences run from 15 years to double life
terms, the latter to Gerardo.
The panel annulled Wednesday some charges for
three of them, which will now have to be
evaluated once more in Miami.
The 99-page verdict orders to analyze in that
southern city the cases of Ramon, sentenced to
life imprisonment plus 18 years of jail,
Fernando, to 19 years of being deprived of his
freedom, and Antonio, life imprisonment plus ten
years.
Sentences for Rene of 15 years and Gerardo,
double life imprisonment plus fifteen years
remained unchanged.
Last August 20, lawyers of the Five denounced at
the Atlanta Court of Appeal political
manipulations of the judiciary process used for
the imprisonment of the Five, as they are
universally known.
Their defenders centered on three topics: the
accusation of conspiracy to murder against
Gerardo Hernandez, that of espionage against
Gerardo, Antonio and Ramon, and bad behavior by
US attorney John Kastrenakes.
Prensa Latina 06-05-2008