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Unions fight for justice for
Miami Five on 10th anniversary of imprisonment
Sept. 9, 2008
Reprinted from
Unite the Union
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.
Watch the video here:
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.com/miami5 |
