From Chicago 7 to Cuban 5
MIAMI: Attorney Leonard Weinglass has taken on tough cases before. Known for his defence of the "Chicago Seven" — leaders of the protestors that interrupted the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago — Weinglass is now representing Antonio Guerrero, one of five Cuban and Cuban-American men unjustly convicted and imprisoned on federal charges. Known collectively as the "Cuban Five", Fernando Gonzalez, Reni Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramsn Labaqino and Guerrero were arrested in September 1998 for allegedly "spying". In fact, they were gathering information on anti-Cuba terrorists based in Miami, information that was shared with the US. Despite their efforts to protect both US and Cuban lives, in 2001 the Five were convicted and received extremely harsh sentences, ranging from 15 years' imprisonment to double life. Weinglass and other Cuban Five defence lawyers were in Miami to argue an appeal to the case on March 10. Accompanied by a delegation of US and international jurists and activists, Weinglass and the other lawyers submitted a 700-page brief to argue the appeal. The international supporters came from Italy, Argentina, Germany, Belgium and England. A distinguished group of Ecuadorians would have attended, but were denied visas by the US State Department. A decision from the three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals is not expected for months. A key part of the appeal is that the trial should never have taken place in Miami. During the oral arguments, Weinglass cited prejudice in a community with 500,000 Cuban-Americans. Prejudice on Cuban issues was the same reason cited a year later by the Justice Department for trying to move a trial out of Miami in a lawsuit over the federal government's raid to seize the Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez, he told the court. Celebrated as heroes in Cuba and among Cuba solidarity activists around the world, the five imprisoned men have sought to defend their dignity in the face of repeated efforts to isolate them from friends and family. One wrote a book of jailhouse poetry. There are some 235 solidarity committees in the US and around the world. Responding to a virtual news blackout on the case, supporters of the Five placed a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on March 3, signed by notables such as author Alice Walker, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchu. The ad explains the injustice surrounding the Cuban Five's case and calls on people to sign a web site petition to President Bush. The campaign to raise US$50,000 for the ad was launched last October. There was a great response with contributions from Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, Colombia, Argentina, South Africa, England, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Canada, Australia and the US. More than US$10,000 was raised from the Cuban progressive community in Miami. For more information andto see the advertisement(it is not possible to see it onthe New York Times website) go to http://www.freethefive.org.* * * Acknowledgements to People's Weekly World and the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five.