Ricardo Alarcon: We Need a Jury of Millions for the Cuban Five

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 22 (acn) The president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, said on Tuesday that a jury of millions is necessary so that U.S. president Barack Obama releases the Cuban antiterrorists who remain unjustly imprisoned in the United States.

Ricardo Alarcon

Speaking during the closing session of the Seventh Congress of the National Association of Cuban Jurists held in Havana, Alarcon added that “we should not be satisfied with what has been done for the release of Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez and Gerardo Hernandez “—internationally known as the Cuban Five.

“I’m convinced that jurists will play a decisive role in this complex stage of our struggle,” Alarcon noted as he highlighted the work done in favor of the Cuban Five by late American lawyer Leonard Weinglass.

The Cuban Five were unjustly incarcerated in the United States in 1998 for trying to prevent terrorist actions against the Caribbean nation. Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez and Gerardo Hernandez remain unjustly in prison, while Rene Gonzalez was released on parole in October 2011, but he was forced to stay in U.S. territory for three years.

Referring to other topics, Alarcon said that the struggle against corruption has to become a daily battle against a scourge that has to be eradicated.

“It is not enough to pass new laws or to update our regulations. We have to promote a legal culture among the people, because this kind of criminal offense can also be eliminated appealing to their sense of shame and letting them play leading roles in this struggle,” added the Cuban legislator.

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