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<font size=5 color="#FF0000"><b>Scroll down for demonstration
information<br><br>
</b></font><font size=3> While reading this article, it
is important to keep in mind that not one of the Cuban Five was accused
of espionage. The Miami Herald heralds the court's decision with a
big headline: ESPIONAGE. Three of the Cuban Five were charged
with CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ESPIONAGE. As one of the lawyers in this
case, Leonard Weinglass, puts it so well:<br>
"Conspiracy has always been the charge used by
the prosecution in political cases. A conspiracy is an agreement between
people to commit a substantive crime. By using the charge of conspiracy,
the government is relieved of the requirement that the underlying crime
be proven. All the government has to prove to a jury is that there was an
agreement to do the crime. The individuals charged with conspiracy are
convicted even if the underlying crime was never committed. In the case
of the Five, the Miami jury was asked to find that there was an agreement
to commit espionage. The government never had to prove that espionage
actually happened. It could not have proven that espionage occurred. None
of the Five sought or possessed any top secret information or US national
defense secrets. Yet, three of the Five were convicted of entering into
an agreement to commit espionage....The sentence for the conspiracy
charge is the same as if espionage were actually committed and proven.
That is how three got life sentences. The major charges in this case were
all conspiracy related, the most serious being conspiracy to commit
murder levied against Gerardo Hernandez. The government charged Gerardo
with conspiracy to commit murder based on a February 24, 1997, shoot down
of two Brothers to the Rescue planes that illegally entered Cuban
airspace." I'll find and send the decision itself later.<br>
Jane Franklin<br>
<a href="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbfranklins" eudora="autourl">
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jbfranklins<br><br>
<br>
</a>Posted on Wed, Jun. 04, 2008<br>
Court rules on sentences of 'Cuban 5'<br><br>
By WALTER PUTNAM<br><br>
A federal appeals court has again upheld the politically charged
convictions of five Cuban intelligence agents accused of spying in the
U.S., but vacated sentences of three of them, including two who are
serving life terms.<br><br>
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned
those cases to a federal judge in Miami for resentencing based on
findings in an opinion filed Wednesday that the five gathered no
"top secret" information. It was the third time the case had
come before the court.<br><br>
The full 11th Circuit court already upheld the convictions of the
so-called "Cuban Five" in August 2006. It rejected claims that
their federal trial should have been moved from Miami because of
widespread opposition among Cuban-Americans there to the communist Cuban
government.<br><br>
The five have been lionized as heroes in Cuba, while exile groups say
they were justly punished.<br><br>
In the appeal ruled on Wednesday, the five challenged a judge's refusal
to suppress evidence from searches conducted under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act, sovereign immunity, discovery procedures,
jury selection and alleged lack of evidence to support their
convictions.<br><br>
"We conclude that the arguments about the suppression of evidence,
sovereign immunity, discovery, jury selection and the trial are
meritless, and sufficient evidence supports each conviction,"
Circuit Judge William H. Pryor wrote.<br><br>
The latest decision included the life sentence for Gerardo Hernandez, who
was convicted of murder conspiracy in the deaths of four Miami-based
pilots shot down by Cuban jets in 1996. The panel split 2-1 to uphold
Hernandez' life term.<br><br>
The four slain pilots flew planes that were part of the Brothers to the
Rescue organization, which dropped pro-democracy pamphlets on the
island.<br><br>
Hernandez and the others - Ruben Campa, also known as Fernando Gonzalez;
Rene Gonzalez; Luis Medina, aka Ramon Labanino; and Antonio Guerrero -
were members of what was known by Cuban intelligence as The Wasp
Network.<br><br>
The panel vacated the life terms of Medina and Guerrero and Campa's
19-year sentence, agreeing with their contentions that their sentences
were improperly configured because no "top secret information was
gathered or transmitted." The judges concurred with Campa that his
sentence was too strict because he was not a manager or supervisor of the
network.<br><br>
The five acknowledged being Cuban agents but said they were not spying on
the United States. They said their focus was on U.S.-based exile groups
planning "terrorist" actions against the Castro
government.<br><br>
After a trial that lasted six months, they were convicted in 2001 of
acting as unregistered Cuban agents in the United States and of espionage
conspiracy for attempting to penetrate U.S. military bases.<br><br>
A three-judge 11th Circuit panel overturned the convictions in 2005,
saying there should have been a change of venue. But the full court
reversed that decision, 10-2.<br><br>
The National Committee to Free the Cuban Five denounced the decision to
uphold the convictions.<br><br>
"It flies in the face of the truth. The five men are not guilty of
any crime," said Gloria La Riva, the committee coordinator.
"They were saving lives by stopping terrorism. They never had
weapons. They never posed any harm to the people of the United
States."<br><br>
*****************************************************************************************<br>
National Committee To Free The Cuban Five Bulletin<br><br>
11th Circuit Court Upholds Convictions<br>
Organize Protests Immediately!<br>
Free the Cuban Five NOW! -- Extradite Posada!<br><br>
Sisters and Brothers:<br><br>
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, 3-judge panel, has issued its
ruling<br>
today, upholding the convictions of the Five Cuban Heroes, including
the<br>
espionage conspiracy and murder conspiracy. The life sentences for
the<br>
espionage conspiracy charges against Antonio, Ramon, and Fernando
have<br>
been remanded to the Miami trial judge for re-sentencing.<br><br>
Stay tuned into our website and email messages from our Committee
for<br>
Cuba's response and the explanation of the decision by the Five's
defense<br>
attorneys. We are urgently calling on all supporters to join together
in<br>
your cities and communities, to hold protests in front of U.S.
federal<br>
buildings or other appropriate places, and in countries outside the
United<br>
States, wherever possible, at U.S. embassies, consulates or other<br>
appropriate symbols.<br><br>
As the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five has recommended in
these<br>
past months, an immediate response is extremely important, in order
to<br>
bring media attention to the injustice against the Cuban Five, and to
show<br>
the broad national and international support for our brothers.<br><br>
Click the link below for the site of planned demonstrations, and
please<br>
email webmaster@freethefive.org so we can add your city to the
list.<br><br>
Hold Demonstrations Thursday and/or Friday<br>
and in the coming weeks<br><br>
San Francisco<br><br>
DATE: Friday, June 6<br>
Location: Powell and Market Sts.<br>
Time: 5:00 pm<br>
Sponsor: National Committee to Free the Cuban
Five<br>
Contact: 415-821-6545<br><br>
Toronto<br><br>
Location: US Consulate on University Avenue,
Toronto<br>
Time: 5:00 pm<br>
Sponsoring organizations include: Canadian-Cuban
Friendship<br>
Association Toronto, Toronto Forum on Cuba, Free the Cuban Five<br>
Cultural Committee, Free the Cuban Five Committee, Communist League,<br>
Socialist Action, Communist Party of Canada, Young Communist League,<br>
Lawyers' Committee , Hamilton Friendship Association with Cuba,
Worker<br>
to Worker<br>
Contact: Elizabeth Hill, 416 654-7105<br>
Additional details: An Ad Hoc Committee has been
formed of Toronto and<br>
area organizations supporting Cuba; future meetings are planned.
Signs<br>
of the Cuban Five are being prepared in advance, and depending on
the<br>
decision, final signs will be made the night before. A media list is<br>
being prepared in advance for quick dissemination of a media release<br>
about the demonstration. A public meeting will take place in the
first<br>
week, with prominent, knowledgable speakers. A flyer for this will
be<br>
ready to be handed out at the demonstration.<br><br>
Detroit<br><br>
DATE: Thursday, June 5<br>
Location: Windsor Tunnel (Jefferson at Randolph) South
side at<br>
Mariners' Church<br>
Time: 4:00 pm<br>
Sponsor: Michigan Campaign to Free the Cuban Five,
Justice for Cuba<br>
Coalition, U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange and MECAWI<br>
Contact: 313 587-9285<br><br>
Los Angeles<br><br>
DATE: Friday, June 6<br>
Location: Outside the CNN Building<br>
6430 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles<br>
(Corner of Sunset & Cahuenga)<br>
Time: 5:00 pm<br>
Sponsor: National Committee to Free the Cuban Five,
ANSWER Coalition-LA<br>
Contact: 213-251-1025, answerla@answerla.org<br><br>
New York City<br><br>
DATE: Friday, June 6<br>
Location: Federal Plaza<br>
Time: 5:00 pm<br>
Sponsor: July 26 Coalition, encompassing many
organizations<br>
Contact: 718-601-4751 or 212-694-8720<br><br>
<br>
Contact us: info@freethefive.org<br>
Or call: 415-312-6042<br>
Web:
<a href="http://www.freethefive.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.freethefive.org<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
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