- By Redaction AHORA
- Friday, 06 January 2012 10:11
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In its 2011 Annual Report, just published in London, Amnesty International referred to the legal process carried out against the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters held in the United States as an “unfair trial.” On this occasion, the case was the only one included in the section of Unfair Trials in the page dedicated to the United States.
“In June, a new appeal was filed in the case of Gerardo Hernández, one of five men convicted in 2001 of acting as intelligence agents for Cuba and related charges. The appeal was based, in part, on evidence that the US government had secretly paid journalists to write prejudicial articles in the media at the time of trial, thereby undermining the defendants’ due process rights. In October, Amnesty International sent a report to the Attorney General outlining the organization’s concerns in the case,” the reads the report, cited by cubadebate website.alt
In October 2010, Amnesty International released a report on the case of the five Cubans in whose conclusions the organization said it believed that the concerns outlined in its report combine to raise serious doubts about the fairness of the proceedings leading to their conviction, in particular the prejudicial impact of publicity about the case on a jury in Miami. Amnesty International hopes that these concerns can still be given due consideration by the appropriate appeal channels. Should the legal appeals process not provide a timely remedy, and given the long prison terms imposed and length of time the prisoners have already served, Amnesty International is supporting calls for a review of the case by the US executive authorities through the clemency process or other appropriate means.”
Gerardo Hernandez, Fernando Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Rene González—known as the Cuban Five, were monitoring the activities of Florida-based ultra-right organizations that have undertaken terrorist actions against Cuba and in US territory over the past five decades. Following the cooperation by the Cuban government with US authorities in handing over information about such groups, the five Cubans were framed and arrested by FBI agents in 1998.
One of them, Rene Gonzalez, met his 13-year prison term in 2011 but he was forced to stay in US territory under a three-year probation. / RHC
