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Yesterday, August 9, after more than one year of
weighing the evidence,
the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals vacated the trial court's ruling
against the Cuban Five and ordered a new trial
with a change of venue. The Five will now receive
a new trial in a place other than Miami. This blow
to the U.S. government undeniably was made
possible by the hard work and growing support of
progressive, justice-loving people in the U.S. and
all over the world.
The convictions of the Cuban Five have been
overturned by the federal appellate court in
Atlanta, Georgia. The request for change of venue
has been granted and the case is being sent back
for retrial outside Miami. This is what the
defense campaign has
always sought.
During the trial, the attorneys for the Five
requested a change of venue from
Miami to another city five times. The judge denied
each request. In December 2001, two of the Five
were sentenced to life in
prison, one to 19 years, and one, to 15
years.
Gerardo Hernández received
two
life
terms.
Why is it not possible for Cuban nationals like
the Five to receive a fair trial in
Miami ?
What
role do anti-Cuban
terrorists play?
Miami
is the one city in the US where the Five certainly
could not receive a fair trial. A portion of the
Cuban exile community has engaged in terrorism
against Cuba for decades. They control the local
press and the media, they occupy the public
offices, and they are the major business figures
in the area. These individuals and institutions
are highly influential, and they all have one
thing in common: they take a hard line on
Cuba .
Miami is a different place than every other city
in the
US .
Violence against Cuba is heralded in small, but
vocal, circles in
Miami .
For instance, in
Miami ,
the terrorist Orlando
Bosch walks the streets a free man. The US Justice
Department once labeled
Bosch the most dangerous terrorist in the Western
Hemisphere
.
He was responsible for bombing a Cuban passenger
airline in mid-flight in 1976, killing all 73
passengers on board. Hard-line exiles and their
supporters play a large role in shaping public
opinion and debate in
Miami .
To try the Five in Miami was a clear violation of
their right to have a trial free of outside
influences that were prejudiced against them. The
venue of the trial should have been moved out of
Miami to another location.
With the compliments of
The Embassy of
Cuba.
August 10, 2005 |
