The Cuban Five - Innocents in U.S. Prison

Update: Maria Bibbs at The Madison Times has a piece on Leonard Weinglass' appearance in Madison on Nov. 11 on the Cuban Five.

by Maria Bibbs

Madison, Wisconsin - Renowned criminal defense attorney Leonard Weinglass publicly addressed the case of the unjustly imprisoned 'Cuban Five' on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Nov. 11. He clarified how this legal action defines the U.S. government’s failures in the 'War on Terror.'

The clients of Weinglass’ 40-year legal career — including Angela Davis, The Chicago 7, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Daniel Ellsberg, Jane Fonda, Amy Carter, and Antonio Guerrero of the Cuban Five — reflect his long investment in civil rights activism in the U.S.

In 2004, The Civil Rights Section of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) established the Leonard Weinglass Civil Rights Award to recognize outstanding contributions to human rights and the protection of our civil liberties. (Incidentally, Weinglass worked on Angela Davis’ case at the UW-Madison Law School 35 years ago.)

The Cuban Five are five Cuban men serving four life sentences and 75 years in U.S. prisons after being accused of conspiring to commit espionage in the U.S. They were falsely accused on June 8, 2001. The Cuban Five are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labanino, Fernando González, and René González. Their indictment prompts a critique of the U.S. criminal justice system and foreign policy history. Weinglass offered an eclectic audience details about the ongoing case before answering questions.

’The sentence itself is an outrage,’ said Weinglass, who noted that the Cuban Five case is unique in its draconian treatment of a conspiracy case that involved no documented evidence and in which no one was ever harmed. ‘There is no comparable case in terms of sentencing,’ he said. ‘There is no comparable case in terms of prosecution.’

The Cuban government sent the five Cuban men to the U.S. specifically to nonviolently infiltrate illegal anti-Cuban, right-wing groups based in Miami and to document and report on terrorist plans against Cuba. The right-wing groups have waged continuous attacks on Cuba since 1961, resulting in the death or injury of nearly 3,000 people in Cuba, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

The U.S. government has refused to act against these terrorist groups, Weinglass said, so the Cuban government found it necessary to send agents to Florida to monitor their actions. The five Cuban agents were arrested in 1998 on the charge of ‘conspiring to commit espionage,’ but they were never a threat to the U.S., Weinglass concluded.
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From Crooks and Liars:

They went underground in another country to infiltrate groups carrying out terrorism in their country. When they discovered serious new plots, they notified law enforcement in that country - and for their trouble received harsh decades-long prison sentences. Yes, The Cuban Five still rot in US prisons.

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Free the Cuban Five

I was not able to attend last night's address by Leonard Weinglass in Madison, the famed civil rights attorney, addressing the case of the Cuban Five.

The Capital Times ran a letter by Robert Kimbrough publicizing the event.

For those not familiar with this case, Kimbrough's letter provides an excellent introduction. [For more information, see the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five.]

The facts of the case represent an all-too-common occurrence in America under the Bush regime: Innocent people brutalized, and due process and fair hearings prevented by a corrupt U.S. Attorney.

Writes Kimbrough:

On Sept. 12, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, for many years the chief aide to Colin Powell and former faculty member at many U.S. military "colleges," attended a lecture at Howard University's Law School (Washington, D.C.). The speaker was Leonard Weinglass; his subject was "The Cuban Five."

Wilkerson had never heard of the Cuban Five. He said he "was stunned by what counselor Weinglass revealed." But he was not surprised. After "four years inside the Bush administration," he knew "the depths to which our government is capable of sinking." He concluded that "this case is truly the bottom of the pit."

If highly placed Wilkerson did not know about the Cuban Five, surely a massive number of Madisonians remain equally uninformed. ...

Weinglass is a most accomplished U.S. criminal defense attorney and a preeminent civil rights lawyer known for his defense of high-profile political clients. Among those he has defended are Angela Davis, Daniel Ellsberg, the Chicago Seven and Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Weinglass is currently counsel to one of the Cuban Five, Antonio Guerrero, and he is the lead lawyer among the team of all the lawyers working on behalf of each of the Five. We in the United States have not seen such a famous lawyer on the left since Clarence Darrow.

The Cuban Five are Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labanino, Rene Gonzalez, and Fernando Gonzalez. They are in five separate U.S. prisons for simply defending Cuba from acts of terrorism carried out by extremist right-wing groups in Miami. Rene was sentenced to 15 years, Fernando 19 years, Ramon and Antonio for life, and Gerardo two life sentences plus 15 years. On Sept. 12, 2007, they began their 10th year of incarceration.

The Cuban Five never harmed anyone, were not destructive, did not try to gather state secrets, and were never a threat to the security of the United States.

On the other hand, confessed anti-Cuba terrorists walk freely in Miami. For example, Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carilles, longtime CIA agents, openly brag that they masterminded the Oct. 6, 1976, explosion of two bombs planted on a Cuban airline flight from Barbados to Cuba, killing all 73 aboard.

Noam Chomsky has said: "It's an amazing case! Here are Cubans who are infiltrating illegal, terrorist organizations in the U.S. But the infiltrators are arrested, not the terrorists. It's astonishing!"

For complete information and documentation on the Cuban Five: (Link to) http://www.freethefive.org/.

Robert Kimbrough is a member of the Free the 5 Madison Committee, Veterans for Peace, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Madison Area Peace Coalition, and Socialist Party of Wisconsin

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Cuban Five Appeal

What is it with Miami and its credulity for government-alleged terror conspiracies?

Miami is the place you want to go if you have a thin terror case and need a conviction, and have no morals about what you to do to human beings with whom you disagree. In other words, Miami is fascism USA.

'Cuban Five' appeal to be heard

Miami Herald

The case of five Cubans convicted of spying in 1998 comes up for its third appeals review in Atlanta.

BY ANDRES AMERIKANER
Almost nine years after their arrest, five Cubans convicted of spying on the U.S. government and South Florida exile groups will appeal Monday to judges in Atlanta, arguing that their sentences are excessive and they should be free.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the latest appeal -- the third time the case has come before that court. The so-called Cuban Five, who are called heroes on the communist-run island, were convicted in 2001 in Miami and handed sentences ranging from 15 years to life.

Four years later, a three-judge appeals panel in Atlanta concluded the five did not receive a fair trial in Miami. But the full appeals court reversed that ruling last year, noting no Cuban Americans were part of the jury and that some of the defendants' evidence to show bias was flawed. So the original sentences still stand.

Today (Aug 20), defense lawyers will take another stab at seeking lighter sentences.

The defense will be focusing on three main arguments:

• That there was not enough evidence to convict Gerardo Hernandez, one of the five, on charges of murder conspiracy for the Brothers' deaths in the plane shootdown.
• That prosecutors in the original trial, particularly during the closing arguments, made statements that were improper and prejudiced the jury.
• That the sentences handed down to all five men are excessive.

''The case is a festering injustice, which somehow this system cannot digest,'' said defense attorney Leonard Weinglass.

Weinglass represents Antonio Guerrero, who received a life sentence for espionage conspiracy.

''Hopefully this time, we're going to begin the process of getting them out of prison and home,'' Weinglass said.

For more information see:

- The National Committee to Free the Cuban Five

- CounterPunch: The Singular Story of the Cuban Five

- CNC: Free the Cuban Five

Gerardo Hernández: espionage conspiracy and murder conspiracy; sentenced to life.
Ramón Labañino: espionage conspiracy; life imprisonment.
René González: functioning as unregistered foreign agent; 15 years.
Fernando González: functioning as unregistered foreign agent; 19 years.
Antonio Guerrero: espionage conspiracy; life imprisonment.

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