[NYTr] Guatemalan Lawyers Demand Freedom for the Cuban Five

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN)
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles


Guatemalan Lawyers Demand Freedom for the Cuban Five

Havana, July 23 (acn) During a panel held at the Human Right Institute 
of the San Carlos University, Guatemalan lawyers discussed the 
arbitrary judicial process carried out against five Cuban antiterrorist 
fighters who have been unjustly held in US prisons for more than eight 
years.

Lawyer Alfonso Bauer Paiz pointed out that the trial was held in Miami, 
in an atmosphere of impartiality. He denounced the unjust imprisonment 
of Antonio Guerrero, Fernado Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon 
Labanino and Rene Gonzalez, internationally known as the Cuban Five, 
and recalled how a working group of the United Nations declared their 
detention as arbitrary.

Lawyer Fernando Zuniga denounced that the Cuban Five have been held in 
isolation for more than a year and deprived of their right to 
communicate with their families, reported Prensa Latina news agency.

The Cuban Five were detained in 1998 by the FBI and charged for 
espionage even though their mission was to prevent terrorist attacks 
from anti-Cuban organizations based in Florida responsible for deaths 
and damages to Cuba over the last 45 years.

Cuban political counselor in Guatemala, Humberto Castañeda, denounced 
the US double-standard on terrorism. He noted that the Cuban Five have 
been unjustly held behind bars for nearly nine years while notorious 
terrorist Posada Carriles walks freely in the United States.

During the meeting, professor Rodolfo Davalos from the University of 
Havana, announced a hearing will be held on August 20 by a panel of 
judges at the Court of Appeals of Atlanta.