Washington, Sep 21 (Prensa Latina) A delegation of women leaders will travel to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, to demand that Attorney General Alberto Gonzáles immediately free the Cuban Five.
According to a report by Minnie Bruce Pratt on www.workers.org website, the action was called by the New York Committee to Free the Cuban Five in collaboration with the National Committee.
The five Cubans -Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and René González-have been held since 1998 in US federal prisons, under sentences ranging from 15 years to double life.
They were railroaded into jail amidst the fierce anti-communist climate in Miami for monitoring the terrorist activities of right-wing groups against revolutionary Cuba.
On May 27 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that the imprisonment of the Cuban Five was unjust and violated international law.
In August, a panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals declared the convictions null and void, and said each defendant deserved a new trial.
The women´s delegation asked to speak with the attorney general in order to protest the continued incarceration of the Five, and to demand visitation rights for the prisoners´ families.
The Bush administration has repeatedly denied visas to family members and loved ones who wish to visit the Five. Adriana Pérez, who is married to Gerardo Hernández, has not seen him for over six years.
René González´s daughter has never seen her father, although she is a US-born citizen.
In her report, Minnie Bruce Pratt that women leaders from an impressive spectrum of American and international organizations, from human rights, anti-prison to social and religious groups, signed a letter addressed to the US Attorney General.
