Statement from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5

Statement about Gerardo Hernandez' Legal Situation

August 12, 2011

The coming weeks will be critical in the upcoming closure of the Habeas Corpus process for Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, condemned unjustly to two life sentences. The US government continues to deny Gerardo his basic right to be heard by the justice system.

On April 25, U.S. prosecutor Caroline Heck Miller asked the federal court of Miami to reject his extraordinary Habeas Corpus appeal. On that occasion we asked: "What does the prosecution fear by letting Gerardo exercise his right to present his arguments to the court and request alleged evidence against him?"

New evidence has emerged that the Miami journalists who demonized the five in their coverage leading up to and during the trial, thus creating bias and influencing the jury, received a quarter of a million dollars from the U.S. government. This obstruction of justice by the government is one of the arguments Gerardo plans to present at the hearing.

For the past 12 days the Cuban Parliament has denounced the U.S. government's denial of access to legal documents related to his case as arbitrary actions against Gerardo.

Together with 10 Nobel Prize winners, thousands of artists and intellectuals, parliaments and governments (paraphrasing recent statements by Obama) we say: It is time that Gerardo Hernández and his four compañeros are freed. Even if just for humanitarian reasons, after 15 years of unjust imprisonment, it is time that the Five be freed. We do not expect something different from U.S. courts, but we believe that the U.S. government should make the right decision to allow the return of the Five to their families.

Obama can use his executive powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution to liberate the Five. It's time for him to listen to international demands and end this injustice.

Please send telegrams, faxes and e-mail to the White House and all U.S. embassies based in your country demanding an end to the illegal and arbitrary treatment against Gerardo Hernández Nordelo.

To send an e-mail message visit: HTTP://WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/CONTACT
Phone: 1 + 202. 456-1111
Fax: 1 +202. 456-2461

Address:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
EE.UU.

International solidarity will continue until the Five return to their homeland and their families.

International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5