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Celebrities demand justice for Cuban Five

by LotusFlower | September 30, 2008 at 07:10 am | 165 views | 9 comments | 34 recommendations

Cuban Five - Celebrities appeal for justice

Five cubans jailed by the US in 2001 are the subject of full page appeals by around 130 celebrities in two of the UK's biggest national newspapers. In Cuba they are seen as national heroes but Cuban exiles in the US believe that they were fairly tried. The US has not allowed the men's wives to visit them and this too has been highlighted as a human rights issue.

The celebrity list includes Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu, German novelist Gunter Grass, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and playwright Harold Pinter.

Some 130 celebrities from the arts, media and politics have signed an open letter calling for justice for five Cubans jailed in the US for spying.

The letter appeared in two national UK newspapers to mark on the 10th anniversary of the men's arrest.

Campaigners are urging US authorities to give visas to the wives of two of the men. They have not been allowed to visit the US for several years.

The men were convicted in a Miami court in 2001 on a range of charges.

These included lying about their identities, trying to obtain US military secrets and spying on Cuban exile groups.

Three were given life terms, the other two 19 and 15 years in jail.

A full-page advertisement in The Guardian and The Independent newspapers on Tuesday carries a large photograph of Adriana Perez, who has not been granted a visa to visit her husband, Gerardo Hernandez, for 10 years.

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Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:17 on September 30th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Jon Azpiri

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:11 on September 30th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

moonwolf

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:16 on September 30th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

LotusFlower

at 08:36 on September 30th, 2008

Thanks moonwolf - I really wasn't aware of this story until I saw the pages in the Gaurdian with the names of all the celebrities - I can't really understand why they wouldn't allow the wives to visit - are they judged a security threst or just bring publicity to their husbands' situation that the Govt. doesn't want?