Statement from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5

August 12, 2011

The coming weeks will be critical in the upcoming
closure of the Habeas Corpus process for Gerardo
Hernández Nordelo, condemned unjustly to two life
sentences. The US government continues to deny
Gerardo his basic right to be heard by the justice system.

On April 25, U.S. prosecutor Caroline Heck Miller
asked the federal court of Miami to reject his
extraordinary Habeas Corpus appeal. On that
occasion we asked: "What does the prosecution
fear by letting Gerardo exercise his right to
present his arguments to the court and request
alleged evidence against him?"

New evidence has emerged that the Miami
journalists who demonized the five in their
coverage leading up to and during the trial, thus
creating bias and influencing the jury, received
a quarter of a million dollars from the U.S.
government. This obstruction of justice by the
government is one of the arguments Gerardo plans
to present at the hearing.

For the past 12 days the Cuban Parliament has
denounced the U.S. government's denial of access
to legal documents related to his case as arbitrary
actions against Gerardo.

Together with 10 Nobel Prize winners, thousands
of artists and intellectuals, parliaments and
governments (paraphrasing recent statements by
Obama) we say: It is time that Gerardo Hernández
and his four compañeros are freed. Even if just
for humanitarian reasons, after 15 years of
unjust imprisonment, it is time that the Five be
freed. We do not expect something different from
U.S. courts, but we believe that the U.S.
government should make the right decision to
allow the return of the Five to their families.

Obama can use his executive powers outlined in
the U.S. Constitution to liberate the Five. It's
time for him to listen to international demands
and end this injustice.

Please send telegrams, faxes and e-mail to the
White House and all U.S. embassies based in your
country demanding an end to the illegal and
arbitrary treatment against Gerardo Hernández Nordelo.
To send an e-mail message visit:
http://WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/CONTACT

Phone: 1 + 202. 456-1111

Fax: 1 +202. 456-2461

Address:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
EE.UU.

International solidarity will continue until the
Five return to their homeland and their families.

International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5.