Unions fight for justice for Miami Five on 10th anniversary
of imprisonment
12 September 2008
The UK’s largest unions are stepping up the campaign for
justice for the Miami Five with the launch of a short film to mark
the 10th anniversary of the arrest of the five Cubans unjustly
jailed for trying to stop US based terrorist attacks against their
country.
To coincide with the anniversary of their arrests in Miami
on 12 September 1998, UK union leaders including Unite joint
general secretaries, Derek Simpson and
Tony Woodley, Unison’s Dave Prentis, CWU’s Billy Hayes and
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber are calling on the US
government to give visitation rights to the families of the Miami
Five.
The Miami Five have spent ten years in prison for
gathering information about the right wing terrorist groups working
out of Miami who were responsible for the deaths of over 3,500
Cubans.
Personalities are also adding their name to an appeal for
Justice for the Five and their families. Signatories include many
famous names from the world of politics, law, music and arts
including writers Iain Banks, Beverley Naidoo, Harold Pinter and
actors Julie Christie, Susannah York and Maxine Peake.
Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said: "This
case represents a travesty of justice by the US government who are
using the Miami Five to make a political point against Cuba. To
deny the families the right to visit their loved ones is totally
inhumane."
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
part of the UN Commission on Human Rights, have ruled that the
detention of the five men was arbitrary and in violation of
international law.
The campaign is particularly focussed on the visiting
rights for two of the wives of the prisoners, Olga Salanueva, wife
of Rene Gonzalez and Adriana Pérez, wife of Gerardo Hernandez who
have both been denied the right by the US authorities to even see
their husbands for 8 and 10 years.
Amnesty International have condemned this measure as
"unnecessarily punitive and contrary both to standards for the
humane treatment of prisoners and to states’ obligation to protect
family life.’
Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson said: "Unite
and the UK and Irish trade union movement are absolutely determined
to highlight the injustice of this case. We have raised the issue
with our colleagues in US trade unions as the vast majority of
Americans are completely unaware about this miscarrage of justice
that has occurred in their country. This has been due to the amost
total media silence that surrounded this case."
Both Olga and Adriana will attend a public anniversary
vigil at the US Embassy in London at 6pm on Tuesday 7th October
2008, the same day that the petition will be handed over to US
officials.
Unite has made a short campaigning which will be sent to
over 100s of thousands of union members and will be posted on You
Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIKBq1d84w
The film tells the story of the men's imprisonment, the
families' plight and demonstrates the growing support among the UK
labour movement for visitation rights.
Contact Unite head of press, Pauline Doyle on 07976832861 or
Cuba Solidarity Campaign director, Rob Millar on 07930 693 900
Notes to Editors:
1. The Miami Five are Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, Ramón Labañino,
Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González. They were
sentenced to prison terms of between 15 to 25 years in the USA
after being convicted of conspiracy to act as agents of the Cuban
government and related charges.
3. Amnesty International on the case
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGAMR510132007
4. Further information about the Miami Five can be found at
www.unitetheunion.org
