Within the last few days, an urgent situation has developed in the incarceration of Gerardo Hernández, who has been unjustly put in "the hole" and denied proper access to his lawyers, on top of more than two months of being denied proper medical treatment. Gerardo has also been unjustly denied visits from his wife, Adriana Pérez, since the day he was arrested nearly 12 years ago.
Leonard Weinglass, one of the attorneys on Gerardo's legal appeals team, told the Committee that he and attorney Peter Schey called the prison to arrange a visit with Gerardo for Saturday, July 31. The prison informed them they would only be allowed a visit with a glass partition between them. Even though Gerardo has an active habeas corpus appeal and it is necessary to consult properly with his attorneys, Weinglass and Schey are being denied the right to carry pencil or pen and paper with them, and are not allowed to bring their legal documents.
Weinglass said "Yesterday the temperature in Victorville was 104 degrees. Gerardo and another inmate were placed in a 8x3 foot cell without air conditoning, and yet there was an empty air-conditioned cell nearby." According to Weinglass the purported reason for Gerardo's isolation is that a letter from an unknown individual was mailed to him, which the prison claims contained an unidentified powder. Gerardo never received the letter, and yet as a result of this incident, the whole prison was put in lockdown. This mistreatment of Gerardo is completely unwarranted.
All supporters of the Cuban Five are asked to urgently contact the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as the Warden of Victorville Prison, to demand that these unjust situations be corrected immediately. We have set up a web page where you can easily send emails to them - click here to lend your voice to this urgent campaign. You may also wish to contact President Obama with the same message (contact information is at the link).
See also the recent article with Ricardo Alarcón's statement on the situation, and a previous one here
Demand justice for the Cuban Five! Click here to write a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. Click here to have yourself or your organization listed as part of the coalition.
National Committee Exposes Secret Payments to Miami Journalists who Covered the Prosecution of the Cuban Five
• Documents which were revealed and discussed at the press conference can be found here.
• Audio, video, and partial transcripts of the press conference can be found here • Read the media coverage of the press conference (in English and Spanish) here
A press conference held June 2, 2010 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., attended by a variety of national and international media, revealed new evidence uncovered by the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five that the U.S. Government has covertly paid tens of thousands of dollars to Miami journalists working for major media outlets who, during the federal government's politically-charged Miami prosecution, published often incendiary stories about Cuba and the five Cubans. The men, known as the "Cuban Five," are serving sentences varying from 15 years to double life, after being convicted of charges including espionage conspiracy.
Gloria La Riva
The press conference revealed names of journalists, payment amounts, and will have available notebooks highlighting articles and propaganda by supposedly-independent journalists who were covertly on the payroll of the U.S. government.
Speaking at the press conference were attorneys with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) that have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the National Committee. The litigation filed by the PCJF asserts that the BBG and its Office of Cuba Broadcasting are withholding information that will show that they have engaged in activities in violation of federal law, specifically the Smith-Mundt Act, which prohibits the BBG from seeking to propagandize the U.S. public, and may be continuing to do so.
The press conference announced that a coalition of organizations is initiating a nationwide campaign that will call on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to take immediate action to provide remedy and relief to the Cuban Five based on the U.S. government's misconduct and covert operations which deprived the Five of their fundamental right to a fair trial. Click here to send your own letter to Eric Holder demanding justice for the Five, and click here so that you or your organization can be listed as part of the coalition calling on Holder to free the Five.
Government seeks to block information revealing illegal activity
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Partnership for Civil Justice
Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the Cuban Five committee who will speak at the press conference, said, "Many of the articles and commentaries by the government-paid journalists were highly prejudicial and biased, with the obvious aim of negatively influencing the Miami public and the jury pool, convicting the Cuban Five, and depriving them of the fundamental right to a fair trial."
In January 2009, the National Committee issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) seeking information on U.S. government payments to supposedly independent journalists. Key information initially released by the BBG to the Committee made clear that the amount of covert government payments to journalists is substantial - however the agency is refusing to hand over critical underlying documents to the National Committee and is fighting to keep this information from becoming subject to public scrutiny.
According to the lawsuit filed by the PCJF attorneys Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and Carl Messineo, on behalf of the Cuban Five committee, "The public has an immediate right to know about matters involving improper domestic propaganda as well as whether the U.S. Government compromised the fundamental right to a fair trial of the Cuban Five. These journalists engaged in repeated publications of purportedly independent articles. The articles include many that were highly incendiary, included false information and poisoned domestic public opinion during the prosecution, trial and conviction of the Cuban Five."
Speakers at the press conference:
Gloria La Riva, Coordinator, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Attorney, Co-founder, Partnership for Civil Justice
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild
Brian Becker, National Coordinator, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Heidi Boghosian
Brian Becker
Demand justice for the Cuban Five! Click here to write a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Click here to have yourself or your organization listed as part of the coalition.
Forbidden Heroes: The Untold Story of the Cuban Five
An important series of articles on the history of the case of the Cuban Five
by Ricardo Alarcón, President of the Cuban National Assembly of People's Power:
[Can't see the video above, which requires the latest version of Flash? Click here to view the QuickTime or WMV versions]
Click here to be added to our low-volume email list to be kept informed about developments in the case.
Haz clic aquí para que tu nombre sea añadido a nuestra lista de correos de bajo volumen y mantenerte informado acerca de los acontecimientos que tienen lugar sobre este caso.
Who are the Cuban Five?
The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are in U.S. prison, serving four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being wrongly convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001.
They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González.
The Five were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States, and other related charges.
But the Five pointed out vigorously in their defense that they were involved in monitoring the actions of Miami-based terrorist groups, in order to prevent terrorist attacks on their country of Cuba.
The Five’s actions were never directed at the U.S. government. They never harmed anyone nor ever possessed nor used any weapons while in the United States.
The Cuban Five’s mission was to stop terrorism
For more than 40 years, anti-Cuba terrorist organizations based in Miami have engaged in countless terrorist activities against Cuba, and against anyone who advocates a normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. More than 3,000 Cubans have died as a result of these terrorists’ attacks.
Terrorist Miami groups like Comandos F4 and Brothers to the Rescue operate with complete impunity from within the United States to attack Cuba—with the knowledge and support of the FBI and CIA.
Therefore, Cuba made the careful and necessary decision to send the Five Cubans to Miami to monitor the terrorists. The Cuban Five infiltrated the terrorist organizations in Miami to inform Cuba of imminent attacks.
The aim of such a clandestine operation by the Cuban Five—at great personal risk—was to prevent criminal acts, and thus protect the lives of Cubans and other people.
Billboard in Los Angeles demands:
Free the Cuban Five
On Feb 1, 2008, a billboard was unveiled in Hollywood (Los Angeles), California, demanding the freedom of the Cuban Five. Click here to see pictures and watch a video of that historic event.
March on Washington demands:
Free the Cuban Five
On Sept. 23, 2006, a historic march was held through the streets of Washington, D.C. from the Justice Department to the White House. Listen to speeches from the press conference which preceded the march and the forum which followed it, and watch a slideshow and videos of the march.
National Committee to Free the Cuban Five
2489 Mission St., #24
San Francisco, CA 94110
www.freethefive.org
7/28/10: 
7/16/10: 
3/20/10: 
Within the last few days, an urgent situation has developed in the incarceration of Gerardo Hernández, who has been unjustly put in "the hole" and denied proper access to his lawyers, on top of more than two months of being denied proper medical treatment. Gerardo has also been unjustly denied visits from his wife, Adriana Pérez, since the day he was arrested nearly 12 years ago.
