Mexican Senate Intercedes with US Supreme Court on behalf of Cuban 5

[magbana]

http://www.periodico26.cu/english.html

Mexican Senate Intercedes with US Supreme Court on Behalf of the Cuban Five


President of Mexican Senate, Gustavo Madero Muñoz, Requests Change of
Venue from
Miami

Feb. 16, 2009
Reprinted from Periodico 26

Gustavo Madero

The Senate of the Republic of Mexico, as an amicus curiae, "respectfully"
requested the United States Supreme Court to accept and approve the appeal
recourse presented by the defense of "the 5 Cubans imprisoned in the United
States" to end the violations of their human rights.

On presenting the point of agreement, passed by the Senate, Senate President
Gustavo Madero Muñoz asked that "they be submitted to a new trial outside of
Miami in due process of law and be returned to their country and their
families."

The PAN (Party of National Action) Senate coordinator recalled that
on September
12, 2008, 10 years of unjust imprisonment was completed by Cubans Gerardo
Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene
Gonzalez, who were monitoring terrorist plans against Cuba by Cuban exiles in
Florida.

In addition to their heavy sentences, Madero Muñoz added, their trial was
politicized and plagued by irregularities, and the prisoners have remained
isolated in maximum security prisons under cruel conditions of seclusion,
violating their human rights and U.S. laws.

The legislator from Chihuahua continued to say that the families
of20"The Cuban
Five" live in Cuba and, in order to travel to visit their relatives,
must obtain
visas authorized only after very long procedures. "For Ramon, Fernando and
Antonio these visits are not even once a year; while Gerardo and Rene
have been
denied the right to visit with their wives, who have not been able to
visit them
for 10 years."

The U.N. Human Rights Commission issued an opinion expressing that depriving
these prisoners of freedom violates Article 14 of the International
Covenant of
Civil and Political Rights and is therefore arbitrary, and on May 27,
2005 asked
that the government of the United States adopt the measures necessary
to remedy
this situation.

The United States Government ignored the U.N. Human Rights
Commission's petition
and appealed the decision of the Atlanta Court of Appeals, he explained.

The Senate of the Republic has remained active and in solidarity to
achieve the
freedom of these Cuban prisoners, having approved points of agreement in 2006
and 2008, he said.

Madero Muñoz recalled that the position of "amicus curiae" is a
recourse made by
a third party, not part of the litigation, who voluntarily presents an opinion
on some point of law to collaborate with the court in the resolution of the
matter before it, and consists of a legal opinion, a testimony not
solicited by
the parties, or legal information about the case.

The decision whether to admit the "amicus curiae" information is at the
discretion of the United States Supreme Court ", he said.

The United States, he indicated, is one of the countries that most
utilizes this
recourse but the Supreme Court only accepts about one percent of the
cases that
are presented for its revision.

For that reason, Madero Muñoz concluded, it was considered an act of "strict
justice" to request to the U.S. Supreme Court, through an "amicus", to accept
and approve the appeal presented by the defense of the five Cuban prisoners.

[EFerrari]

1. This is very encouraging. nt