[Ppnews] The Habeas Corpus of Gerardo Hernandez

[Political Prisoner News]

    The Habeas Corpus of Gerardo Hernandez

August 23, 2012
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=77088

*Fernando Ravsberg** <http://cartasdesdecuba.com/>

HAVANA TIMES --- UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and 
lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, officially expressed her concern over the lack 
of transparency and the legal procedures employed in the trials of five 
Cuban agents arrested in the US over a decade ago.

Apparently the prosecution and the judge played with cards up their 
sleeves by preventing the defense from having "access to all available 
evidence and documentary archives." This was a violation of procedures 
so elementary that it even appears in TV series.

But the procedural mistakes don't stop there. According to the UN 
rapporteur, the habeas corpus writ presented by the defense is being 
reviewed "by the same judge who was previously in charge of the case," 
thereby making her the judge and the jury.

To top it all off, the hand of the US government can be seen in its 
pressuring of the courts for tougher sentences. Before and during the 
trial, several journalists in Miami received money to write articles 
against the five Cuban agents.

It really doesn't seem legal for the executive branch to exert influence 
over the judiciary, nor is it very ethical for a journalist to agree to 
receive money from the government in exchange for writing articles to 
influence the outcome of an ongoing trial.

US attorney Martin Garbus says that between 1998-2001 an arsenal of 
propaganda was received by the Miami community through print, radio and 
television --- paid for by the government --- to interfere with the 
trail and to persuade the jury.

According to Garbus, fifteen journalists received money to write against 
the five agents. Apparently some received their funds secretly, with not 
even their media outlets knowing that they were working for another more 
generous employer. For this, one of the reporters was paid $175,000 USD.

The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) of the US government was forced to 
admit to the accusation when reporter Oscar Corral revealed that 50 of 
his colleagues in Florida were paid by government-funded Radio Marti for 
articles supporting the position of the US Department of State against Cuba.

The scandal was such that Jesus Diaz, the editor of the largest 
newspaper in Miami, fired several journalists claiming that the press 
can't "ensure objectivity and integrity if any of our reporters receive 
monetary compensation from any entity, especially a government agency."

The head of the Cuban agents, Gerardo Hernandez, was sentenced to two 
life sentences. Photo: Taken from Cubadebate

Despite the harsh words of the editor, this lack of ethics and 
professionalism seem not to have been considered too serious because a 
few months later several of those journalists returned to their old 
jobs, writing as if nothing had ever happened.

Certainly, there have been so many legal and ethical anomalies that make 
it seem logical for UN Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul to look askance at the 
independence of the judges in this case. Just the same, one would have 
expected such occurrences given the place where the trial was held.

Miami is a city where Cuban exiles have enormous political, economic and 
media power. It was highly unlikely to obtain a fair verdict in relation 
to these five agents who confessed to monitoring and reporting to Cuba 
on the activities of [terrorist figures] within that same community.

The atmosphere in Miami surpasses even their hatred of Fidel Castro and 
extends to citizens who live on the island. In the largest newspaper in 
the city diatribes appear ensuring that any relaxation of tensions "will 
have to be built by the submissive Cubans living on the island."

The island's residents are described as "those who have endured 
everything, who collaborated with everything, who have beaten Cuban 
dissidents, those who have betrayed their compatriots, who have tortured 
them, who have thrown them into the sea, and who have spent fifty years 
filling Fidel's Revolution Square applauding and sniffing his ass."

But it seems that the natural environment of that city wasn't enough for 
Washington, so they decided that their official information apparatus 
would "burn up" hundreds of thousands of dollars to further inflame the 
situation and create a bonfire through the press.

In such an environment, Gerardo Hernandez was sentenced to two life 
sentences, ensuring that he would remain behind bars even if 
reincarnated in another life. Now his defense is demanding a fair trial 
in an unbiased city and without pressure from governmental or media 
campaigns.

The issue is worrisome even to the United Nations, because --- as 
American lawyer Martin Garbus has expressed --- "every dollar for every 
article, photo or radio or television program that was spent on this 
secret program violated the integrity of the trial."
-----
/ (*) An authorized translation by Havana Times (from the Spanish 
original 
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mundo/cartas_desde_cuba/2012/08/el_habeas_corpus_de_gerardo_he.html>) 
published by BBC Mundo./

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20120823/88c958ae/attachment.htm>