[antiwar-van] Crucial hearing in Cuban Five case, Aug. 20, Atlanta

[Tamara Hansen]

Crucial hearing in Cuban Five case, Aug. 20, Atlanta   

   
  Oral arguments in 11th Circuit Court 
Mon., Aug. 20, 3:00 pm, Room 338
11th Circuit Courthouse, 56 Forsyth St. NW, Atlanta

  As their ninth year of imprisonment nears completion, the Cuban Five will have their latest appeals heard in oral arguments on August 20, 2007. 
   
  The Cuban Five - Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González - were arrested Sept. 12, 1998, and unjustly convicted before a Miami jury in June 2001, of espionage-conspiracy and related charges. As the Five showed in their 7-month trial, they were only in the U.S. to monitor terrorist groups and prevent terrorist attacks on Cuba.
   
  In recent weeks, their case has received major international media attention, with coverage by The New York Times, BBC, and Reuters. For the first time, one of the Five, Gerardo Hernández, was interviewed live, on BBC.
   
  International and U.S. jurists will observe hearing
  Jurists and others from around the world will be in Atlanta to observe the hearing. Among the countries represented will be Chile, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Ecuador, England, Canada, Belgium and the United States. 
   
  Among those attending the hearing are: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General; and Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congressperson; Juan Guzmán, Chilean judge who led the prosecution of dictator Augusto Pinochet; Dr. Norman Paech, human rights attorney and member of the German parliament, and many others. 
  
Third judge added to court panel 
  A third judge, William Pryor, has been added to the panel. Pryor has served on the 11th Circuit bench since his appointment by President Bush in 2003. There will now be three judges to hear the arguments. The other two judges, who decided unanimously for a new trial and overturning of the Five's convictions in 2005 (in the original 3-judge appeals panel) are: Stanley Birch and Phyllis Kravitch.
   
  About the National Committee To Free The Cuban Five... 
   
  The National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, formed in June 2001 after the Five's unjust conviction, works to create public support for the freedom of the Cuban Five. It has collected over 100,000 petition signatures demanding that Pres. Bush free the Five anti-terrorists; published a full-page ad in The New York Times (Mar. 2004) and The Nation magazine (Apr. 2007), and sponsored numerous public forums. The committee organized a national demonstration in front of the White House last Sept. 23, 2006. The committee also maintains a website which is updated daily with information on the case of the Cuban Five and related issues.
   www.freethefive.org

       
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