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The Cuban 5


John Dolva

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Len, how many and who are actual prisoners? Of course Cuba has security concerns. Again : re sympathy, it depends on particular prisoners.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooVvVooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Of course its good to look at oneself before looking at others. John after this needed inward view I do address the Cuban issue. BTW many consider that those arrested/jailed long term for small amounts of cannabis possession in the USA are political prisoners.

================================oooooooo==================================================

OP ED - ERIC SPEARS

School of the Americas

In addition to political activists who face trumped-up charges, U.S. prisons contain political activists who intentionally face arrest. The media doesn't report these events widely, but each year, many Americans are arrested while demonstrating against government policies. For example, thousands of activists, many of whom are faith-based, have been swept up in mass arrests for protesting at the School of the Americas. The School of the Americas (SOA) is a notorious U.S. military combat training facility for Latin American soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia. Graduates include Central American death squad leaders and paramilitary colluders who have committed numerous atrocities included massacres, rape, and torture. In the wake of such controversy, the United States responded by changing the name of the school to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Each year protesters go to the School of the Americas to bear witness and shed light on the SOA. Nonviolent SOA protesters have cumulatively spent over 95 years in prison. To learn more, visit SOA Watch.

link http://www.soaw.org/index.php

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"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial 'outside agitator' idea."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe that it is appropriate for the United States to lecture China about their deplorable human rights record. However, the reverse is also true; China, or any other nation, has every right and moral obligation to press the U.S. on its own human rights violations. While we are all somewhat familiar with glaring recent abuses such as Abu Ghraib, the world-wide network of "black box" CIA prisons where illegally held detainees are tortured and sometimes murdered, and the gulag at Guantanamo Bay, not much attention is paid to political prisoners in the United States.

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Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning is the Army private accused of providing Wikileaks with U.S. government documents. He has been held in solitary confinement since July, 2010. The conditions of Manning's detention are appalling: He is in held in a 6 foot by 12 foot cell for 23 hours a day where is not allowed to exercise. His glasses are taken from him except for brief periods when he is allowed to read, and at night he is stripped to his boxer shorts. His mental health is said to have deteriorated. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has submitted a formal inquiry to the U.S. State Department about Manning's treatment.

Former Reagan Administration Paul Roberts has said Manning is, "wrongfully imprisoned for meeting his military responsibility." Australian journalist John Pilger calls Manning, "the world's pre-eminent prisoner of conscience." For more information, visit The Bradley Manning Support Network.

link http://www.bradleymanning.org/

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THEN AGAIN THE DEVIL IS AS JOHN DOLVA IMPLIES,in the details.......below.Cuba and the Number of Political Prisoners

by Salim Lamrani

Global Research, September 2, 2010

The question of the number of "political prisoners" in Cuba is subject to controversy. According to the Cuban government, there are no political prisoners in Cuba, rather they are people convicted of crimes listed in the penal code, particularly the act of receiving funding from a foreign power. In its 2010 report, Amnesty International (AI) describes "55 prisoners of conscience"1, of whom 20 were released in July 2010, followed by another six on August 15, 2010 after mediation by the Catholic Church and Spain, and later another two.2 Thus, according to AI, there are currently 27 "political prisoners" in Cuba. Finally, the Cuban opposition and, more precisely, Elizardo Sánchez of the Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CDHRN) put the number at 147 political prisoners, minus the 6 recently freed, in other words, 141.3 The Western media favor this latter list.

First, before raising the question of the exact number of "political prisoners" in Cuba, it is worth clarifying one aspect of this issue, i.e., the existence or non-existence of financing of the Cuban opposition by the United States.

This policy, carried out clandestinely from 1959 to 1991, is now public and confirmed by many sources. Indeed, Washington has acknowledged this fact in various documents and official statements. The 1992 Torricelli law, in particular section 1705, states that "the United States Government may provide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental organizations, for the support of individuals and organizations to promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba."4 The Helms-Burton Act of 1996 provides in Section 109 that "the President [of the United States] is authorized to furnish assistance and provide other support for individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations to support democracy-building efforts for Cuba."5 The first report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba proposed the development of a "solid support program that promotes Cuban civil society."6 Among the measures envisaged was funding, totaling $36 million dollars, destined to "supporting the democratic opposition and strengthening an emerging civil society. The second report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba proposed a budget of $31 million to further finance the internal opposition.7 The plan also provided for "the training and equipping of independent print, radio, and TV journalists in Cuba. 8.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana the U.S. Interests Section (USINT) has confirmed this in a statement: "The U.S. policy has long been to provide humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people, specifically to families of political prisoners. We also allow private organizations to do the same. 9

Laura Pollán, of the dissident group "Ladies in White, admits receiving money from the U.S.10: "We accept help, support, from the extreme right to the left, without conditions."11 The opposition leader Vladimiro Roca admits that Cuban dissidents are subsidized by Washington, claiming that the financial assistance received is "totally and completely legal." For the dissident René Gómez, financial support from the United States "is not something that has to be hidden nor that we have to be ashamed of."12 Similarly, government opponent Elizardo Sánchez confirmed the existence of U.S. financing: "The key point is not who sent the aid, but what is done with the aid. 13

The Western press admits this reality. Agence France-Presse reported that "the dissidents, for their part, appeal for and accept such financial assistance.14. The Spanish news agency EFE refers to "opponents paid by the United States.15 According to the British press agency Reuters, "the US government openly provides federally-funded support for dissident activities, which Cuba considers an illegal act.16 The U.S. newsgathering agency Associated Press says that the policy of manufacturing and financing internal opposition is not new: "Over the years, the U.S. government has spent many millions of dollars to support Cuba's opposition".17 It states, "Part of the funding comes directly from the U.S. government, whose laws promote the overthrow of the Cuban government. 18

Wayne S. Smith is a former diplomat who was head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979 to 1982. According to him, it is completely illegal and unwise to send money to the Cuban dissidents.19 He added that, No one should give money to the dissidents, much less for the purpose of overthrowing the Cuban government since when the US declares its objective is to overthrow the government of Cuba and later admits that one of the means of achieving that goal is to provide funds to the Cuban dissidents, these dissidents finds themselves de facto in the position of agents paid by a foreign power to overthrow their own government. 20

Lets recall now the position of Amnesty International. The organization speaks of 27 political prisoners in Cuba as of August 15, 2010. Nevertheless, at the same time AI recognizes that these individuals were charged for having received funds and/or materials from the United States government in order to engage in activities the authorities perceived as subversive and damaging to Cuba.21 Thus, the organization found itself in a contradiction, in that international law considers the financing of the internal opposition in another sovereign nation to be illegal. Every country in the world has a judicial arsenal establishing the illegality of such conduct. U.S. and European laws, among others, strongly sanction the act of receiving funds from a foreign power.

The list put together by Elizardo Sánchez is longer and includes all sorts of individuals. Among the 141 names, ten were freed due to health, leaving a total of 131 people. With regard to these 10 individuals, Sánchez explained that he keeps them on the list because they could be jailed again in the future. Another four individuals served their sentences and left prison. Thus 127 people remain. Another 27 people are to be released prior to October, according to the agreement signed between Havana, Spain, and the Catholic Church.

Of the 100 remaining individuals, about half were imprisoned for violent crimes. Some carried out armed incursions into Cuba and at least two of them, Humberto Eladio Real Suárez and Ernesto Cruz León, are responsible for the deaths of various civilians in 1994 and 1997 respectively.22

Ricardo Alarcón, the president of the Cuban Parliament, emphasized these contradictions, Curiously, our critics talk about a list… Why dont they explain that they are asking for freedom for the person who murdered Fabio di Celmo? 23

The Associated Press (AP) also emphasized the dubious nature of Sánchezs list and indicates that some of those would not normally be seen as political prisoners. But a closer look will find bombers, hijackers and intelligence agents. The AP points out that among the 100 people, about half were convicted of terrorism, hijacking or other violent crimes, and four are former military or intelligence agents convicted of espionage or revealing state secrets. 24

For its part, Amnesty International confirms that it can not consider the people on Sanchezs list to be prisoners of conscience because it includes people brought to trial for terrorism, espionage and those who tried, or actually succeeded, in blowing up hotels, according to the organization. We certainly would not call for their release or describe them as prisoners of conscience. 25

Miguel Moratinos, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, who played a pivotal role in the agreement for the liberation of the 52 prisoners, also has called into question the validity of Sánchezs list and has underscored its imprecise character: They dont say that 300 must be freed, because there are not 300. The Cuban Human Rights Commissions own list, a week before I arrived there, spoke of there being 202. The day before I arrived in Cuba, the Commission said there were 167. 26

After the freeing of the other 27 persons included in the June 2010 agreement, there remained only one political prisoner in Cuba, Rolando Jiménez Pozada, according to Amnesty International. The Associated Press for its part points out that in fact this individual is jailed on charges of disobedience and revealing state secrets. 27

Curiously, the list developed by Sánchez, which is the least reliable of the lists and which has been criticized from all sides due to the inclusion of individuals convicted of grave acts of terrorism, is favored by the western press.

The Cuban government has made a notable gesture by proceeding to free prisoners considered to be political prisoners by the U.S. and some organizations, such as Amnesty International. The primary obstacle to the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana from the point of view of the Obama government no longer exists. That being the case, it is up to the White House to make a reciprocal gesture and put an end to the anachronistic and ineffective economic sanctions against the Cuban people.

Article in french : Cuba et le nombre de « prisonniers politiques », August 16th 2010.

Translated by David Brookbank

Notes

1 Amnesty International, «Rapport 2010. La situation des droits humains dans le monde», May 2010. http://thereport.amnesty.org/sites/default/files/AIR2010_AZ_FR.pdf (website consulted June 7, 2010), pp. 87-88.

2 EFE, «Damas piden a España acoger a más presos políticos», 25 de julio de 2010; Carlos Batista, «Disidencia deplora destierro de ex presos», El Nuevo Herald, August 15, 2010.

3 EFE, «Damas piden a España acoger a más presos políticos», July 25, 2010.

4 Cuban Democracy Act, Title XVII, Section 1705, 1992.

5 Helms-Burton Act, Title I, Section 109, 1996.

6 Colin L. Powell, Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, (Washington: United States Department of State, May 2004). www.state.gov/documents/organization/32334.pdf (website consulted May 7, 2004), pp. 16, 22.

7 Condolezza Rice & Carlos Gutierrez, Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, (Washington: United States Department of State, July 2006). www.cafc.gov/documents/organization/68166.pdf (website consulted July 12, 2006), p. 20.

8 Ibid., p. 22.

9 Associated Press/El Nuevo Herald, «Cuba: EEUU debe tomar medidas contra diplomáticos», May 19, 2008.

10 Associated Press, Cuban Dissident Confirms She Received Cash from Private US Anti-Castro Group, May 20, 2008.

11 El Nuevo Herald, «Disidente cubana teme que pueda ser encarcelada», May 21, 2008.

12 Patrick Bèle, «Cuba accuse Washington de payer les dissidents», Le Figaro, May 21, 2008.

13 Agence France-Presse, «Prensa estatal cubana hace inusual entrevista callejera a disidentes», May 22, 2008.

14 Agence France-Presse, «Financement de la dissidence: Cuba somme Washington de sexpliquer», May 22, 2008.

15 EFE, «Un diputado cubano propone nuevos castigos a opositores pagados por EE UU», May 28, 2008.

16 Jeff Franks, Top U.S. Diplomat Ferried Cash to Dissident: Cuba, Reuters, May 19, 2008.

17 Ben Feller, Bush Touts Cuban Life after Castro, Associated Press, October 24, 2007.

18 Will Weissert, «Activistas cubanos dependen del financiamiento extranjero», Associated Press, August 15, 2008.

19 Radio Habana Cuba, Former Chief of US Interests Section in Havana Wayne Smith Says Sending Money to Mercenaries in Cuba is Illegal, May 21, 2008.

20 Wayne S. Smith, New Cuba Commission Report: Formula for Continued Failure, Center for International Policy, July 10, 2006.

21 Amnesty International, Cuba: Five years too many, new government must release jailed dissidents, March 18, 2008. http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/cuba-five-years-too-many-new-government-must-release-jailed-dissidents-2 (website consulted April 23, 2008).

22 Juan O. Tamayo, «¿Cuántos presos políticos hay en la isla?», El Nuevo Herald, July 22, 2010.

23 José Luis Fraga, «Alarcón: presos liberados pueden quedarse en Cuba y podrían ser más de 52», Agence France-Presse, July 20, 2010.

24 Paul Haven, Number of Political Prisoners in Cuba Still Murky, Associated Press, July 23, 2010.

25 Ibid.

26 EFE, España pide a UE renovar relación con Cuba, July 27, 2010.

27 Paul Haven, Number of Political Prisoners in Cuba Still Murky, op. cit.

Salim Lamrani is a university lecturer at the University Paris-Sorbonne-Paris IV and the University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and a French journalist, specialist on the relationship between Cuba and the United States. Lamrani has just published Cuba. Ce que les médias ne vous diront jamais (Paris: éditions Estrella, 2009). It is available in bookstores and on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.fr/Cuba-Medias-Vous-Diront-Jamais/dp/2953128417/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

For specific requests, contact him directly at: lamranisalim@yahoo.fr , Salim.Lamrani@univ-mlv.fr

Edited by Steven Gaal
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Len, how many and who are actual prisoners? Of course Cuba has security concerns. Again : re sympathy, it depends on particular prisoners.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooVvVooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Of course its good to look at oneself before looking at others. John after this needed inward view I do address the Cuban issue. BTW many consider that those arrested/jailed long term for small amounts of cannabis possession in the USA are political prisoners.

================================oooooooo==================================================

OP ED - ERIC SPEARS

School of the Americas

In addition to political activists who face trumped-up charges, U.S. prisons contain political activists who intentionally face arrest. The media doesn't report these events widely, but each year, many Americans are arrested while demonstrating against government policies. For example, thousands of activists, many of whom are faith-based, have been swept up in mass arrests for protesting at the School of the Americas. The School of the Americas (SOA) is a notorious U.S. military combat training facility for Latin American soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia. Graduates include Central American death squad leaders and paramilitary colluders who have committed numerous atrocities included massacres, rape, and torture. In the wake of such controversy, the United States responded by changing the name of the school to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Each year protesters go to the School of the Americas to bear witness and shed light on the SOA. Nonviolent SOA protesters have cumulatively spent over 95 years in prison. To learn more, visit SOA Watch.

link http://www.soaw.org/index.php

The site didn’t list any “political activists who face trumped-up charges” It mentioned one who served “a six-month sentence for crossing the line at the 2010 Vigil to Close the School of the Americas” which seems a bit harsh but it would be instructive to know more details. It mentioned another who “is facing up to six months in federal prison” for a second offense of climbing over a military base fence. I doubt there is a country in the world where someone would not get jail time for such an act. How many decades would one get if they did this in Cuba?

“Among the jailed political opponents is doctor and human rights defender Marcelo Cano Rodriguez. He was arrested in the city of Las Tunas on 25 March 2003 as he was investigating the arrest of another doctor, Jorge Luis García Paneque, detained during the crackdown on dissidents on the island. Marcelo Cano Rodríguez was tried, convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The activities the prosecution cited against him included visiting prisoners and their families as part of his work with the Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos (Cuban Human Rights Commission); and maintaining ties to the international organization Medicos sin Fronteras, Doctors without Borders. He is currently being held in Ariza prison in the city of Cienfuegos, around 250 km south-east of his home in the capital, Havana, where his family lives making family visits difficult.”

http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/cuba-five-years-too-many-new-government-must-release-jailed-dissidents-2

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"it would be instructive to know more details" - good point Len.

"How many decades would one get if they did this in Cuba? ' - dunno Len, How many?

''difficult'' - impossible?

__________--

Cmon Len, is that it?

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Come on John obviously if the sentence for "visiting prisoners and their families...and maintaining ties to {MSF]" was 18 years climbing over a military base fence would garner a far stiffer sentence. I assume they would 'shoot first and ask questions later'. So do you think the doctors deserved their sentences?

Edited by Len Colby
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What are you talking about now. Did some doctors get shot? Where?

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Ok, thanks, Len.

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What doctors?

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separate:

Martes, 03 de Enero de 2012 10:49 | pdf_button.png | The 5 of January for the Cuban 5

Dear friends,

We invite you to start the 2012 with a simple collective action for the 5 Cuban patriots. This effort will only be effective if we all do it the same day and from all over the world.

On January 5, from any place where you are, send an e-mail, a fax or make a phone call to President Obama to demand that he immediately free Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio and Fernando and that he allows René to return to Cuba to his wife and daughters.

President Obama knows the Five are Innocent. He has heard that from intellectuals, religious people, union leaders, students, actors and artists, parliamentarians, Nobel Prize recipients and thousands of honest people from all over the world. He can and he should put an end to these 13 years of injustice. Only by doing that will he gain the respect of the international community that is waiting for a humanitarian gesture on his part that will allow the immediate return of the Five to Cuba, to their families and their people.

TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE WHITE HOUSE

By phone: 202-456-1111

If calling from outside the United States, dial first the International Area Code

+ 1 (US country code) followed by 202-456-1111

By Fax: 202-456-2461

If fax is sent from outside the United States, dial first the International Area

Code + 1 (US country code) followed by 202-456-2461

SEND AN E-MAIL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5

For more information visit

www.thecuban5.org

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Yeah, but that's just a string of words from somewhere. Do you know how Amnesty International works? What was done on this island? What were the circumstances of the case?

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Yeah, but that's just a string of words from somewhere. Do you know how Amnesty International works? What was done on this island? What were the circumstances of the case?

I don't see you applying the same skeptical/critical eye to the "thecuban5" and Granma websites claims about the case. Unlike them AI is a neutral organization AFAIK without an agenda, they criticize many governments across the political spectrum. Unfortunately the press in Cuba is state controlled so there are not a lot of objective sources of info. I could cite exile websites but felt AI was more reliable.

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Ok, that's cool.

___________

Miércoles, 21 de Diciembre de 2011 09:32 cinco_heroes.jpgThe Cuban Five: Happy New Year 2012!

Gerardo: ...EVERY DAY THAT WE RESIST AND CONTINUE TO ADVANCE IS A NEW VICTORY...

Fernando: May you have a happy and fruitful New Year, and that 2012 be another year of gains and victories for the causes that we defend.

Ramón: On behalf of our five families, of the Cuban people, and from each one of us, we wish you !!!!!!!HAPPY 2012!!!!!!!

Antonio: We are always optimistic, and reiterate: !Venceremos! Five embraces.

René: It is because of that reciprocal link that the happiness of yours is also our happiness, that we share your projects, that we enjoy your successes and that together we all project the optimism and the perseverance that make us one.

Read More

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Antonio Guerrero transferred to Oklahoma penitentiary

cinco1.gifHAVANA.—María Eugenia (Maruchi), the sister of Antonio Guerrero, one of the five Cuban anti-terrorists incarcerated in the United States, has sent a message to all those in solidarity with the Five and demanding their liberation.

The message, published on the CubaDebate website, says:

Dear friends: My brother was transferred yesterday, Friday, January 6, from Florence FCI and is now in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, possibly in the hole, as has been the case every time he has had to pass through this transit prison.

We do not know how long he will remain there, or his final destination, but you can be sure that in spite of everything he will not lose his inspiration for continuing to create and transmit love to everyone.

As soon as he is able to contact us we will communicate with all of you who accompany us every day in enduring this injustice and maintaining hope for his return. Thank you all for your solidarity. (AIN)

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Havana. January 11, 2012

U.S. editorial denounced for

distorting events

cinco1.gifWASHINGTON.— The Cuban Interests Section here in the U.S. capital denounced an editorial in The Washington Post which distorts events related to Cuba, including the prosecution of Alan Gross and the case of the Five Cuban anti-terrorists incarcerated in the United States.

In a December 31 editorial column, the newspaper questioned the sentence imposed by a Cuban court on U.S. citizen Alan Gross, convicted of violating the law.

The Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington explained in a letter to the Post, "We would like to clarify that the accused was not tried or convicted for any ‘humanitarian work’ associated with helping the Jewish community in Cuba gain Internet access, since synagogues in Cuba had connections long before his arrival."

"Mr. Gross violated Cuban law and was carrying out undercover operations; the U.S. government contracted him to implement federal programs intended to disrupt the constitutional order of our country," the text continued.

This is considered illegal in Cuba, as it is in many counties, including the United States and, as the document explains, the accused has acknowledged his responsibility for the crimes committed.

"It should be pointed out that the Cuban government has informed U.S. authorities that it is willing to seek a solution to Mr. Gross’ case based on humanitarian reciprocity," the letter states.

At the same time, the Cuban Interests Section criticizes a section of the article attempting to justify the inordinate sentences handed down to the Cuban Five, as René González, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino and Fernando González are known internationally.

The Cuban response to the editorial asserts that the article ignores the worldwide support for the Cubans, four of whom continue to serve unjust sentences while René, the first to complete his full sentence, is required to remain in U.S. territory on probation for three more years.

The description of these five anti-terrorists as "spies who infiltrated military installations in South Florida" is an attempt to misguide readers, according to the Interests Section statement.

"They were simply monitoring the activity of extremist groups of Cuban origin in New Jersey and Florida, attempting to anticipate their terrorist actions and gather evidence about possible attacks within U.S. territory," the letter continued, "Thanks to the work of the Five, Cuba shared with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, during William Clinton’s Presidency, dozens of video tapes and many details about the campaign of terror these individuals were planning and attempting to perpetrate."

"This evidence, however, was not used to arrest the true terrorists, but rather to prosecute the five Cubans in a judicial process corrupted by political motivations."

"Documents corroborate that the U.S. government paid journalists to write articles defaming the five anti-terrorist Cubans in the mass media during the trial, violating the rights of the accused to an impartial trial."

"We encourage The Washington Post to consider the arguments presented here to provide better coverage of these issues," the message from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington concluded.

The International Committee to Free the Five Cubans - imprisoned in the United States since 1998 - challenged the Post article, pointing out that it ignores the opinions of many artists, intellectuals, Nobel Prize winners and even former President James Carter, who have advocated for the release of the Five.

Among the Nobel Prize winners supporting the Five are Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchú, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, José Saramago, Harold Pinter, Zhores Alfiorov and Günter Grass. (PL)

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