Model letter to Eric Himpton Holder, Jr
Use the model text below to send a letter to Attorney General
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr seeking the release of the Miami
5.
You should send your letter to: Attorney General Eric Himpton
Holder, Jr, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001 USA
or e-mail: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Dear Eric Himpton Holder, Jr,
I am writing to you regarding the cases of the
following five men who have been held for almost 10 years in US
maximum security prisons.
- Gerardo Hernández
- René González
- Ramón Labañino
- Antonio Guerrero
- Fernando González
They were first arrested in 1998. They had
infiltrated the extremist Cuban American groups in the south of
Florida in order to obtain information about terrorist activities
directed against Cuba. In doing so I believe that they were in fact
protecting their fellow countrymen from terrorist attacks that had
already killed and maimed people indiscriminately in Cuba.
They have been held incommunicado in isolated
cells for long periods of time and two of them have been denied the
right to receive family visits.
I am writing to raise my concern that these
men have not received a fair trial and have been subjected to
unfair and unjust treatment. I ask that you look again at their
case.
On August 9, 2005, the Eleventh Circuit Court
of Appeals in Atlanta declared null and void the decision passed in
Miami which had condemned these men.
Their prison sentences have already been
declared illegal by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of
the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.
On the question of the denial of visas for
family visits by two of the wives Amnesty International have
said
‘In the absence of a clear and immediate
threat posed by such visits, this measure is unnecessarily punitive
and contrary both to standards for the humane treatment of
prisoners and to states’ obligation to protect family life’
People around the world are aware of this
cruel and unjust situation. I implore you as a representative of
the people of the United States to look once again at these
cases. At the very least I hope that you will do all you can
to ensure that the prisoners families are allowed full visiting
rights and will be granted the necessary visas and permissions.
Yours sincerely,
