Monday, June 08, 2009
Cuban Fighters
Cuba Denounces Injustices in Case of the Cuban Five in Geneva
by Cuban Agency News
Cuba denounced at the Human Rights Council in Geneva the violations committed by the US Government in the judicial process against five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters who remain unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1998.
According to Prensa Latina news agency, the Cuban Ambassador to this body of the United Nations (UN), Juan Antonio Fernandez, introduced the topic during an interactive discussion with the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and on Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
The Cuban diplomat congratulated the Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for taking into account the necessary parameters to guarantee the independence of magistrates.
However, he stressed that Cuba believes it would have been important to include the analysis of the impact that factors such as media manipulation, a prejudiced community and a biased venue can have upon the impartial conduct of judges.
Fernandez explained that these factors, along with a vindictive attitude by the US Government, are present in the case of Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez – internationally known as the Cuban Five – who were arrested in Miami in 1998 for infiltrating anti-Cuba extremist groups that were planning and carrying out terrorist actions against the Caribbean nation.
The Cuban official recalled that the detention of the Cuban Five was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2005.
“Almost eleven years after their unjust imprisonment, the Cuban Five are still giving the world an example of unyielding resistance and faith in justice,” the diplomat added.
As to the report regarding freedom of opinion and expression, the Cuban ambassador warned the audience about the relationship of the Rapporteur with certain regional mechanisms and other institutions of dubious reputation such as the Inter American Press Association.
by Cuban Agency News
Cuba denounced at the Human Rights Council in Geneva the violations committed by the US Government in the judicial process against five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters who remain unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1998.
According to Prensa Latina news agency, the Cuban Ambassador to this body of the United Nations (UN), Juan Antonio Fernandez, introduced the topic during an interactive discussion with the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and on Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
The Cuban diplomat congratulated the Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for taking into account the necessary parameters to guarantee the independence of magistrates.
However, he stressed that Cuba believes it would have been important to include the analysis of the impact that factors such as media manipulation, a prejudiced community and a biased venue can have upon the impartial conduct of judges.
Fernandez explained that these factors, along with a vindictive attitude by the US Government, are present in the case of Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez – internationally known as the Cuban Five – who were arrested in Miami in 1998 for infiltrating anti-Cuba extremist groups that were planning and carrying out terrorist actions against the Caribbean nation.
The Cuban official recalled that the detention of the Cuban Five was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2005.
“Almost eleven years after their unjust imprisonment, the Cuban Five are still giving the world an example of unyielding resistance and faith in justice,” the diplomat added.
As to the report regarding freedom of opinion and expression, the Cuban ambassador warned the audience about the relationship of the Rapporteur with certain regional mechanisms and other institutions of dubious reputation such as the Inter American Press Association.
