A mock prison was erected in Manchester City Centre to draw attention to the case of 5 Cubans wrongly imprisoned for fighting terrorism
Five activists dressed in prison overalls were
incarcerated behind bars while others gave out leaflets and collected
signatures to raise awareness of the case of the ‘Miami 5’, Cuban citizens who
had, following an accord between Cuba and the US gathered information on terror
plans by ultra right elements in Florida. When they gave the information to the
FBI they were promptly arrested and after a trial seen as unfair by legal
experts and sentenced to extremely long prison terms for alleged espionage and
conspiracy to murder.
Lively Cuban music played while members of the group
engaged in discussion with interested passers by.
Bruce Rafeek, Secretary of Manchester Cuba Solidarity
Group, said:
“We have long campaigned against this injustice and this
year settled on a new way to draw the public’s attention to their fate. With
what was a cross between street theatre and art installation we certainly made
an impact and found again that when the facts of the case are explained, the
people of Manchester show their concern for injustice and offer their support
to the cause.”
The installation started at the statue of that US campaigner
for justice, Abraham Lincoln and then moved on to Piccadilly Gardens. For more pictures, please see our Flickr page by clicking here
Notes for editors
The Miami 5 are Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González,
Antonio Guerrero, René González and Ramón Labañino. These five Cubans were
given harsh jail sentences on 'conspiracy' charges in 1998 by the US court in
Miami. They were denied the right to a fair trial.
Their only crime was to gather information on terrorist
groups in Miami that were planning attacks on Cuba. In the past 50 years over
3,000 lives have been lost from such terror attacks on Cuba. Known terrorists
walk freely in Miami and have even boasted of their exploits on local
television shows there.
Before sentencing they spent 18 months in solitary
confinement. They have spent the last 13 years in separate maximum-security
prisons. Their applications for appeals have been repeatedly blocked by the US
government.
Visits from their families have been severely restricted.
The wives of two men - Gerardo and Rene - have been refused visas to visit
their husbands for 13 and 12 years respectively. Amnesty International, The UN
Human Rights Commission, The TUC, 11 Nobel Prize winners and ex US president
Jimmy Carter, are amongst those who have protested against their unlawful
imprisonment.
Only public pressure can help them now.
