Leonard Weinglass: Public Support is Crucial in Cuban Five Case

Leonard Weinglass, Defense Attorney for the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters held in US jails for 10 years now, known as the Cuban Five, spoke with the Cuban News Agency during the launching, September 20 in Havana, of the book “Chronicle of an Injustice,” which describes the case; the book is one more effort to raise world awareness about the cause of five Cubans who were given extremely long sentences for having fought terrorism. We now bring our readers the full text of the conversation with the US lawyer.

Mr. Weinglass, the 11 Circuit of Atlanta’s Court of Appeals recently rejected a petition made last June 24 by the defense to review the case and reconsider its decision, upheld the convictions. Could you tell us what comes next in the legal battle in favor of the Five?

- “The legal case is now moving to Washington, where we are attempting to get the Supreme Court of nine justices to take the case for review, that is one front of legal work, the second front returns to Miami where three of the Five are scheduled to be re-sentenced before the trial judge. That is the other front we are working on. There is a two-front struggle at this point. It’s very important that we build support for the case in Washington.”

However, we understand that the Supreme Court only takes from 1.5 two 2 percent of the case that are presented each year. What are the chances for this case, then?

-- “It is very difficulty to assess what our chances are. However, this is a very unusual case; it is important nationally and internationally. It is a case which won a unanimous decision first at the 11 Circuit and then it lost two later decisions, but those decisions carried a very strong dissent so in the three cases we won one and we barely lost two, so the Supreme Court should look at this record, since it is an ambiguous record, it is the kind of record that calls out for a review.”

As to legal cases you have reiterated your statement that you do not win in court but on the streets, we understand that public support is crucial.

-- “The lesson of the Angela Davis case, in which I was involved, is that as you build public support you increase the prospects of obtaining a victory. She was an African American woman, a member of the Communist Party, tried before a white jury in a rural county of California and charged with killing a judge; it was very serious, she originally carried the death penalty, but she was acquitted of all charges and that was largely because of the international outcry about her case. In the other political cases, I have been involved in public support has been crucial. The Supreme Court this year will get 8000 petitions for review; they will take fewer than one hundred; our case will only be taken if it becomes a known case, a rather famous case, then it will be review, so public support is essential to our work.”

Why is this a political case?

-- “These case takes every definition of a political trial, and it is a case that involves not just a political issue but also the relationship between the US and Cuba. In the trial process they reviewed the 40-year history of that relationship, and this case is centered in that history. So it is unavoidable of the process itself that the process itself has been political since the beginning and it remains political. Senator McCain, currently running for President referred to our case, so it is a political case; if it will be decided politically it requires political support.

The presentation of the book, which was printed in Spanish, English and French, was made by the president of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcon at the colonial building hosting the Cuban Book Institute, in the old section of Havana. The ceremony was attended by relatives of the Cuban Five, the president of the Havana-based Casa de Las Americas Institution, Roberto Fernandez Retamar and other personalities.

Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Rene Gonzalez, Fernando Gonzalez and Antonio Guerrero, were framed and arrested by FBI agents in 1998 and given unfair and long sentences including four life terms, after they collected information on Florida-based ultra-right organizations that have undertaken terrorist actions against the Cuban people.

Let the Wives Visit the Five

After a lengthy period without a post, the Five Heroes blog is back up and running.  Sorry to our regular readers but due to circumstances beyond our control we have been unable to post to this blog.  Go to our box widget and download your invitation to a special event in Sydney this Friday.

Sign a Petition to George W. Bush Demading Release of the Five

Despite the overwhelming clamor worldwide for justice and their freedom, the five are still incarcerated in the United States, confined in prisons of maximum security, denied of their right to receive regular visits even from family members; their telephone contacts and correspondence limited and controlled.

Indeed the people of the world were shocked and outraged to know that on May 8, 2007, international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles has been released in the United States and all charges against him were dropped, while the five Cuban heroes continue to languish in US prisons and their rights grossly violated. This aptly shows the double standards of the US in its “war on terrorism”.

Let us continue to struggle for justice and freedom of the Five Cuban patriots!

Click here to sign the Amistad's online petition to free the five.

Posada Case Proves Innocence of Cuban Five

"The best proof of the innocence of the Cuban Five, unjustly imprisoned in the United States, is personified by Luis Posada Carriles, whose release on bail outrageously violates the basis for Washington’s supposed war against terrorism," said Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban parliament.

Alarcon spoke at an international solidarity meeting held at the Havana Convention Center on Wednesday with representatives of labor, social and political organizations from more than 70 countries.

Alarcon referred to a document presented by Posada’s own attorneys on April 30, in which he admits working for the CIA for more than 25 years starting in 1961.

The statement, Alarcon notes, confirms what Cuba has always said: "Posada was a CIA man at the time of the Barbados plane bombing, when he was involved in Operation Condor, during the dirty war against Nicaragua and as a top Venezuelan secret police officer, when he tortured and killed many people."

The Cuban-born Posada is a naturalized Venezuelan who escaped from prison while awaiting trial for the 1976 midair bombing of a Cuban Airliner. The commercial plane had left from Venezuela and blew up off the coast of Barbados resulting in the death of all 73 persons on board. Operation Condor was a plan to eliminate all opposition to the South American dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s. The dirty war was aimed at toppling the Nicaraguan Revolution and took place in the 1980s.

On the other hand, the Cuban Five, imprisoned in the US since 1998, had worked to gather information about terrorist plans against Cuba by Miami-based groups that operate with impunity in the US. When Cuba shared its intelligence information with Washington, the FBI proceeded to arrest the informants while allowing the terrorists to continue their activities on US soil.

Alarcon called on the solidarity with the Cuban Five movement to step up efforts to obtain their freedom. He noted that a decisive ruling from the Appeals Court of Atlanta is expected to come after the oral hearing tentatively set for August 20.

"Only through solidarity can we obtain justice in this case. All of us that feel part of this noble effort to create a better world and combat terrorism are obliged to keep close watch over the developments in this case," said Alarcon.

Besides their continued support to seek the release of the Cuban Five and demand that Posada Carriles be tried for his crimes, the solidarity gathering gave its support to the Cuban Revolution.

Also attending the gathering were Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, from the Cuban Communist Party Secretariat; Salvador Valdes Mesa, general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation; and George Mavrikos, general secretary of the World Labor Federation.

ORFILIO PELAEZ (Granma)

Statements on Release of Luis Posada Carriles

While the Five Cuban Heroes remain in prison, falsely convicted in the United States, suspected terrorist Luis Posada Carriles has been let out of a U.S prison on bail whilst facing illegal immigration charges. The U.S Government refuse to extradite Posada Carriles to either Cuba or Venezuela to face charges relating to the bombing of Air Cubana Flight 455 which caused the deaths of 73 innocent people. To read official statements from the Cuban Government and the 118 member Non-Aligned Movement, download the documents from our 'Box' widget on the right hand side of the page.