Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 13:49:04 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [VSCampaign] The 5 Cuban Political Prisoners In Solitary
March 7th, 2003
URGENT ALERT: The Cuban 5 have been placed in
solitary confinement and they need your help!
The five Cuban political prisoners in the U.S. were
suddenly and without justification thrown into solitary
confinement on March 3, 2003 in their separate prisons.
It is not clear how long the punishment will last.
Prison authorities have not given the official reason
for their illegal confinement in "the hole", but
apparently it is a decision from the Federal Bureau of
Prisons in Washington, and has the markings of directed
political repression against the Five.
As Leonard Weinglass, appeals attorney for Antonio
Guerrero, one of the Cuban Five in Florence Colorado
prison, said, "None of them belongs in solitary
confinement. It is completely unjustified and
unnecessary as all of them are model prisoners."
Weinglass has urged supporters of the Cuban Five to
write immediately to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in
Washington. We ask that you do not write to the
individual prisons, as they are not responsible for the
confinement order.
The address of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is: 320
First St. N.W. Washington DC 20534.
The telephone number is 202-307-3198. Hours are Monday-
Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.
Weinglass noted in an interview with Radio Havana Cuba
yesterday that the Black Panther prisoners in the U.S.
were similarly rounded up into solitary right after
9/11. (Read the complete interview with Weinglass after
this notice.)
There is speculation that they are being confined just
as the U.S. government is preparing for a massive war
against Iraq.
It is no coincidence that the Justice Department's
repression of Arab, Muslim and immigrant communities is
also being aimed against the Cuban Five, whose only
"crime" was fighting U.S.-sponsored terrorism against
Cuba.
Gerardo Hern�ndez, Ram�n Laba�ino, Antonio Guerrero,
Ren� Gonz�lez, and Fernando Gonz�lez have been
imprisoned since September 1998 when they were arrested
by the FBI on trumped-up charges of espionage on the
United States. In reality they were prosecuted by the
U.S. for defending their country of Cuba from U.S.-
sponsored and supported terrorism that emanates from
Miami.
The Five lived in Miami since the early 1990s where
they were on a vital mission of monitoring anti-Cuba
terrorist groups there to prevent violence against
their country of Cuba. More than 3,400 Cubans have been
killed by the anti-Cuba violence.
At two of the prisons on Friday, Cuba 5 supporters were
ready to visit the compa�eros when they were turned
away. Reverend Geoff Bottoms flew in from Blackpool,
England to see Ram�n Laba�ino in Beaumont federal
prison in Texas. He was told without explanation that
Ram�n was not permitted visitors.
Alicia Jrapko and Tanya Cole were at Lompoc prison to
visit Gerardo Hern�ndez. Jrapko was told, "It is
possible they will not get any more visitors other than
their family in the future."
We ask all supporters to write to the Bureau of
Prisons, expressing your concern for their safety, and
that you protest the unjust and unnecessary solitary
confinement. Their exemplary behavior does not warrant
this kind of treatment. There is reason to believe they
are singled out because they are political prisoners.
It is also essential that their attorneys have full and
unrestricted access to their clients, especially at
this critical time while they're preparing for the
April 7th appeals court date in Atlanta. Weinglass was
unable to speak with Antonio for two days although he
had authorized collect calls from him.
It is undoubtedly very stressful for their family
members. They had only just returned to Cuba, after
coming to the U.S. to visit their loved ones. The
families had been delayed their entry visas by the U.S.
government for more than six months. Two of the wives,
Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez are still prohibited
from entering the U.S.
2) Radio Havana Cuba Interview with Leonard Weinglass
Commenting on the Change in Status of the Five Cuban
Political Prisoners in the US. 7th March 2003
Bernie Dwyer: Good evening, Mr. Weinglass. The
president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarc�n
announced during the first sitting of the new Cuban
National Assembly, Thursday March 6 that the five Cuban
political prisoners in the United States have been
returned to isolation status in their various
penitential centers. Can you comment on that?
Leonard Weinglass: "Yes, I've been informed of this and
I've been in contact with the prison authorities for
Antonio Guerrero out in Colorado and they haven't been
cooperating at all. I'm still trying to reach Antonio
to talk to him directly. Moving the five into isolation
at this time is an utterly unnecessary and irrational
act, which can only be motivated by a desire to
increase their punishment and have them held under even
more harsh conditions than they have been held under
before. I don't see any justification for this
whatsoever. After 9/11 the government put all of the
black panthers who are held in various prisons
throughout the United States also into isolation which
was an unjustified act and had nothing whatever to do
with whatever national crisis the government was
claiming. I regard this as probably the same as what
happened to the Black Panthers merely because they were
political people being held for political reasons, they
were buried into an isolation status and I'm afraid
that that is happening with the five".
Bernie Dwyer: Mr. Weinglass, Are you saying that
because of the impending US war against Iraq, the five
are now being treated as a security risk?
Leonard Weinglass: "Well, we can only guess at that
because they refuse to answer my enquiries about why
that are doing this but the fact that they did it to
all five indicates that it is a policy decision and not
the result of any act of any one or any five of them. I
do believe that it is related to that although I
haven't had any official confirmation of it but as your
question indicates, it is completely irrational and
unnecessary and not related to any security concern of
an realistic nature that the prison authorities might
have".
Bernie Dwyer: Exactly what kinds of rights and
privileges have been cut back?
Leonard Weinglass: "Once you're put in isolation you
virtually lose all your rights. It's a very extreme and
heightened form of punishment. The only people you can
communicate with are your attorneys. Antonio was a
teacher at the prison and I presume that he is not
permitted to teach. He is not permitted contact with
others and he is held in complete isolation. This is a
very harsh form of punishment and it is usually
reserved for people who have violated major security
provisions within the institution. The fact that the
five are put there because of any imaginary national
crisis that is happening in the US has absolutely no
relationship to any crisis".
Bernie Dwyer: You mentioned that the only person they
can have contact with is their attorney but it seems
that even that particular right is not being honored at
the moment.
Leonard Weinglass: "You're right. I have been trying
for two days to talk to Antonio. They promised me that
I could talk to him yesterday. I fulfilled all the
requirements by writing letters, etc., authorizing Tony
to call me collect but they haven't permitted him to
use the telephone. Not even that restricted right has
been honored by the prison authorities so far".
Bernie Dwyer: Mr. Weinglass, do you know of any other
political prisoners from other countries that that
might be getting the same treatment?
Leonard Weinglass: "I have inquired from attorneys I
know who have been representing people from the Middle
East who are being held in various prisons and none has
been able to give me any affirmative information so I
am not sure now how many are being put in this
condition or if any others are in fact but I hope
sometime today to get an confirmation from these
attorneys as to the status of their clients".
Bernie Dwyer: To your knowledge, how long has this
situation pertained?
Leonard Weinglass: "I was first notified of it on
Wednesday morning, the 5th and I don't know when it
began but that was my first notice of it. I found out
while discussing the appeal with other attorneys
representing five. During the course of us discussing
matters relating to the appeal, one of the other
attorneys indicated that he is unable to communicate
with his client. I then immediately began to enquire
about Antonio's status and I was informed that he was,
in fact in isolation. But they refused to tell me why".
Bernie Dwyer: Is there any positive actions that the
solidarity groups and the general public can take to
support the five Cuban political prisoners to roll back
some of the problems that they are having at the
moment?
Leonard Weinglass: "I think that the support network
should be mobilized and should contact the Bureau of
Prisons and issue statements of complaint about this
condition and support for the five. In the past when
the American Civil Liberties Union or Amnesty
International has complained about an unjust change of
status, frequently the Bureau does back down so I would
think that people should be communicating to the Bureau
of Prisons that the five should not be held in this
condition".
This interview was aired on Radio Havana Cuba on
Friday, March 7 2003.Cuban Five Are Placed in Solitary
Confinement Without Explanation
3) The newly re-elected President of the Cuban National
Assembly, Ricardo Alarc�n, has condemned further abuses
against the five Cuban political prisoners in the
United States. In an address to the first gathering of
the Assembly since general elections in January, he
said that all five had been placed in solitary
confinement without any reason given and that their
attorneys were unable to visit them.
"We hope - he said - that the authorities, which staged
the new violation of the Five prisoners� human rights
(proving their never-ending cruelty capability), are
able to put an end to the obstacles presented that
prevent them from being visited by their attorneys and
such an unjustifiable action right away. We ratify our
commitment to keep on fighting to finish with this
injustice and get their freedom".
Alarc�n demanded that the United States Government
grant access to the Five by their lawyers, and decried
their confinement in the "hole" as an abuse of their
human rights. All five Cubans suffered 17 months of
solitary confinement after they were arrested on
September 12th, 1998. They all reside in different
prisons deliberately spread across the entire expanse
of the United States.
(Courtesy of antiterroristas.cu )
Carlos Rovira, Jr. "Carlito"
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