Solidarity with Cuban Five Growing in Central America

The solidarity with Cuba organizations in Central America are increasing their involvement in the struggle to free Five Cuban anti-terrorists imprisoned in the United States, said a specialist in the subject today.

Katy Paez, an official of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), said women's groups, student unions, farmers and religious people are increasingly advocating the cause of the Five.

It is a unanimous and rising reaction, to the same extent that the White House puts up obstacles and tries to silence the injustice, the specialist noted.

Rene Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labanino and Fernando Gonzalez have been in prison since 1998 for warning Cuba about terrorist plots hatched in southern Florida.

The Solidarity groups know we are at a special moment in the battle for the release of these political prisoners, said Paez.

The U.S. authorities are impeding Gerardo Hernandez’ access to documents related to his case, close to the deadline for filing an extraordinary appeal (Habeas Corpus).

That opportunity is given only once to convicted people after unsuccessfully exhausting all legal remedies and they are now trying to deny that right to Hernández, sentenced to two life sentences plus 15 years, he said.

The penalty, he said, was imposed even though the White House could not sustain the main charge against him for alleged conspiracy to commit murder.

In the case of René González, he said the key battle is for him to be returned to Cuba once he has served his sentence on October7.

The various solidarity movements in Central America are promoting a strong campaign for the right of Habeas Corpus for Gerardo, and participating in the international initiative of the One Million Signatures for the Five, said Paez.

They have also joined the in 2010 of Five for the Five campaign proposed in Costa Rica in 2004, which is to conduct various activities on the fifth of each month, reports Prensa Latina.

The official of ICAP and the mother of René González (Irma Sehwerert) are in Managua to participate in a day of solidarity with the Five anti-terrorists as part of the Fourth Union Meeting of the Americas.

GRANMA