News & Events

Amnesty International asks U.S. to review case of five Cubans and show clemency

18.10.2010

Amnesty International this week issued a public statement expressing "its concerns about the fairness of the trial of five men convicted in 2001 of acting as intelligence agents for Cuba and related charges.
"Cuban nationals Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández and Ramón Labañino, and U.S. nationals Antonio Guerrero and René González were tried in Miami and convicted on various counts, including acting and conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the Republic of Cuba," the document says.
The five are serving terms ranging from 15 years to life in U.S. federal prisons.
"In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on 4 October, [...] Amnesty International said that, while it did not take a position on whether the five men were guilty or innocent of the charges against them, it believed there were doubts about the fairness and impartiality of the trial which have not been resolved on appeal.
"A central, underlying concern related to the fairness of holding the trial in Miami, given the pervasive hostility to the Cuban government in that area and media and other events before and during the trial," the document went on, adding that "there was evidence to suggest that these factors made it impossible to ensure a wholly impartial jury."

Source

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/#ixzz130aKEvAX

Back to List