The Cuban Five
Excerpts from a speech by Ian Thompson of the National Committee to Free the Five. Ian, a lawyer, has spent countless hours working pro bono on this case, and is a friend and fellow ANSWER LA volunteer.
“<The Cuban Five> were sent to the United States by the Cuban government in the early 1990’s to monitor the violent anti-Cuba terrorist network based in Miami, which the U.S. government allows to operate, and even run open terrorist training camps on U.S. soil. The Cuban Five legally gathered evidence about Miami’s right-wing terrorist network and turned it over to the FBI. But instead of arresting the terrorists in Miami, the FBI rounded up the Cuban Five.
Were they arrested because they were Cuban spies? No, they were not spying on the US government. They were arrested because the Five posed a threat to the US policy of destabilizing Cuba by any means possible, including the encouragement and funding of violent attack and invasion. After their arrest, the Five were tried in the only US city where they could certainly NOT receive a fair trial – Miami – and were promptly convicted and sentenced on trumped-up charges of conspiracy to commit espionage.
The case of the Five represents a grievous miscarriage of justice. It makes a mockery of the US justice system, the US Constitution, and International Law. It also presents numerous violations of basic human rights.
70 committees to free the Five exist in the US alone, along with over 200 worldwide. Over 100 British Members of Parliament have signed a letter requesting a new trial. Support for the Five is growing daily. However, the Cuban Five will not have the justice they deserve until they are free and have returned safely to their homes and families in Cuba.”