International Commission in London calls on Obama to free the Five
On March 7 and 8, expert witnesses, attorneys and family members of the Cuban Five, gave powerful testimony before an
audience of 250 people at the prestigious Law Society in central London, to argue for the immediate freedom of the three
Cuban Five members still in U.S. prison.
René González was scheduled as the key witness but the British government denied him a visa, telling him that as an
ex-prisoner who served more than four years in prison, it was sufficient grounds to deny entry into England.
That was precisely the reason he needed to come to London, to explain how each day of his more than 13 years of prison
was wrongly imposed! Still, René's truth rang through the hall as the judge-commissioners and audience listened intently
to him via Skype.
The Commissioners were: Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob, former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa; Philippe
Texier, former Judge, French Court de Cassation; and Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal, former Chief Justice of India. Presiding
were Professor Sara Chandler, Chair, Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales; and Elizabeth
Woodcraft, attorney and author, of Great Britain.
Cuban Five attorneys Phil Horowitz and Martin Garbus, gave details of the egregious denial of the Five's rights to a
fair trial by the U.S. government's misconduct and poisoned political atmosphere in Miami. Garbus also presented a
558-page document to the Commissioners outlining the U.S. government's illegal and secret payments to prominent Miami
reporters who worked to condemn the Five through their highly prejudicial coverage. The document is a product of the
National Committee to Free the Cuban Five's research of the last five years, and contains Garbus's important affidavit
on behalf of Gerardo. Gerardo Hernández's affidavit of his innocence on the false conviction for murder conspiracy is
also included. Attorney Peter Schey spoke of the U.S. government's refusal to produce vital satellite images of the
shoot-down of Brothers to the Rescue planes on Feb. 24, 1996. The shoot-down was falsely pinned on Gerardo Hernández and
is the reason he is serving a draconian double-life sentence.
A women's panel on the second day of the Commission, coincided with International Women's Day, and emphasized the
hardships that the mothers, wives and children of the Five have endured, and their supreme dedication to their loved
ones' freedom. Featured were Irmita González, daughter of René; renowned author Alice Walker; Diana Holland, Assistant
Gen'l Secretary of UNITE union; Mirta Rodríguez, mother of Antonio Guerrero; and Kenia Serrano, president of the Cuban
Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. Olga Salanueva, wife of René González, Elizabeth Palmeiro, wife of Ramón
Labañino, and Adriana Pérez, wife of Gerardo Hernández, gave moving testimony in other sessions.
Among the many others who spoke were family members of victims of anti-Cuba terrorism, Margarita Morales, whose father
died in the 1976 bombing of Cubana flight 455 (73 people were murdered by terrorists Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando
Bosch), Betina Corcho, whose mother, a Cuban diplomat, was murdered by a terrorist bomb directed against Cuba in
Portugal, and Roberto Hernández Caballero, investigator of terrorist crimes committed against Cuba. Former Cuban
National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcón, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and vice-president of Europe's
Parliament Miguel Angel Martínez headed a panel.
A grand concert Friday night highlighted famed Cuban musicians Eliades Ochoa and Omara Portuondo. Alice Walker and other
personalities filled Barbican Hall. A closing dinner on Saturday gave recognition to convenors and organizers Cuba
Solidarity Campaign and the Belgian organization Iniciativa Cuba Socialista, and to British unions UNITE and UNISON,
among others.
A preliminary conclusion was read at the conclusion of the Commission, to resounding applause and standing ovation. The
final report will be sent to President Barack Obama. Congratulations to the organizers and everyone involved for this
vitally important event!
Ends