On June 15, the US Supreme Court ruled against reviewing the case of the Cuban Five. The five men have been in US jails since 1998 for their role in spying on behalf of the Cuban government on right-wing anti-Cuban terrorist groups operating in Miami.
The five, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, were falsely accused of committing espionage and conspiracy against the US, among other charges. They had requested their original trial be moved from Miami on the grounds it was impossible to get a fair trial in a city renowned for its fanatically anti-Castro Cuban exile community.
The judge refused and the five were found guilty on all charges. They received maximum sentences — life in the case of Gerardo Hernandez.
Cuba has been the victim of ongoing terrorist attacks since the 1959 revolution, often by groups based in the US. Such attacks have killed thousands of Cuban citizens and damaged the economy. There have been more than 600 documented CIA-organised assassination attempts against former president Fidel Castro alone.
In Cuba, the five, who helped warn Cuban authorities of planned terrorist acts that threatened Cuban lives and property, are considered heroes. There is strong international support, including in the US, for their release.
The article below is a statement released the day of the Supreme Court decision by the presidency of Cuba's national assembly. For more information about the Cuban Five, visit Freethefive.org.
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The US Supreme Court announced today, without explanation, its decision not to review the case of our five comrades who are unjustly imprisoned in that country for struggling against anti-Cuban terrorism that is sponsored by the US rulers.
The judges did what the Obama administration requested of it.
In spite of the solid arguments made by the defence attorneys from the obvious and multiple legal violations committed during the whole trial, the Supreme Court rejected the case. It ignored the sizeable support for the petition — expressed by an unprecedented number of "friend of the Court" briefs, among them 10 Nobel prize recipients, hundreds of parliamentarians, and numerous US and international jurist organisations, of outstanding political and academic personalities — thus ignoring the demand of humanity and its obligation to do justice.
We see once more the arbitrariness of a corrupt and hypocritical system and its brutal treatment of our five brothers.
Our struggle to win their freedom will not diminish for one instant. Now is the time to step up our actions, and not leave even one space uncovered or door unopened.
We are certain that Gerardo, Antonio, Fernando, Ramon, and Rene will continue leading this battle, as they have during these almost 11 years.
Responding to the infamous decision, Gerardo Hernandez said: "Based on the experience that we have had, I am not surprised by the Supreme Court's decision. I have no confidence at all in the justice system of the United States.
"There are no longer any doubts that our case has been, from the beginning, a political case. Not only did we have the necessary legal arguments for the court to review it, we also have the growing international support as reflected in the Amicus briefs presented to the Court in our favour.
"I repeat what I said one year ago, that as long as one person remains struggling outside, we will continue resisting until there is justice."
The struggle must be multiplied until the US government is forced to put an end to this monstrous injustice and restore freedom to Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando and Rene.