Federal Prosecutor to Appeal Atlanta Court Ruling on the Cuban Five
- From: bromselick@xxxxxxx
- Date: 29 Sep 2005 09:56:41 -0700
http://www.ain.sld.cu/pipermail/ingles/2005-September/003198.html
Havana, Sept 29 ( AIN ) The federal prosecutor's office in Miami
requested on Wednesday that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals of
Atlanta reconsider -with the participation of all the Court's
judges- its ruling in favor of the five Cuban political
prisoners held in the US.
Last August, a panel of three judges appointed by the Atlanta
Court of Appeals accepted the defense's case that the five
Cubans did not receive a fair and impartial trial in Miami -a
city notorious for its anti-Cuban fervor and highly influenced
by ultra-rightwing Cuban-American groups.
According to the Cubadebate website-a space devoted to the
exchange of information about terrorism and mass media campaigns
against Cuba-, Alexander Acosta, the Chief Federal Prosecutor of
Miami, requested that the Atlanta court reconsider the case with
the full panel of twelve judges, because he believes that the
decision contradicts other decisions by the Supreme Court and
the Court of Appeals itself.
According to a statement made public by the Miami Federal
Prosecutors Office, "a full panel review is necessary to
maintain uniformity," though it did not offer any other details
about the basis for the request.
Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando
Gonzales and Rene Gonzalez were declared guilty in a trial that
was considered by legal experts, a UN panel and the Atlanta
Court of Appeals as significantly irregular and prejudiced.
The trial ended in December of 2001, handing out harsh sentences
to the five Cubans: three received life imprisonment; one, 19
years; and the other, 15 years.
The five Cubans admitted to being in Miami to investigate
terrorist activities organized and financed by extremist groups
based there, whose activities have been tolerated by the US
Government.
In a thoroughly documented, 93-page decision handed down in
August, the Atlanta Court of Appeals overturned the sentence
and ordered a new trial, based on the venue where the trial had
took place.
The Miami trial was profoundly influenced by an extensive and
aggressive media campaign -from the first day of the arrest-
that labeled the five Cubans as spies. Several potential jury
members testified that they could not comply with their duties
as they could not be impartial in a Miami court where it would
be the Cuban government on trial.
Since their detainment in September of 1998, the five Cubans
have been subjected to inhumane conditions; their treatment was
heavily criticized in a May 27th report by the UN Human Rights
Commission's Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.
Both the Atlanta Court of Appeals and the UN group stated that
the trial didn't take place in the required climate of
objectivity and impartiality, and declared the city of Miami not
an adequate venue for a trial, as it has been proven that it is
nearly impossible to select an impartial jury in this city in
any case related to Cuba.
Furthermore, the defense attorneys had very limited access to
evidence, as the US government had resorted to classifying much
of the material involved, something that undermined the
necessary balance between the prosecution and the defense, and
seriously hampered the defense's case.
An additional factor that affected the fairness of the trial was
that the five Cubans were placed in solitary confinement for 17
months, during which time their contact with their defense
attorneys was greatly limited.
p/rsl rsl 05 20:39
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