Cuban Hero Denounces Injustices in Case of Cuban Five

Madrid, Sep 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuban hero Fernando Gonzalez denounced the psychological mistreatment suffered during his arrest and the arbitrariness in the trial against The Cuban Five. In an interview published by Spanish newspaper Publico, Fernando, who is also Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Fridnship with the Peoples, said that the US Government will surely continue planning to destroy the Socialist project in Cuba. Fernando referred to the current state of the case of his comrades Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino and Antonio Guerrero, who were arrested in 1998 and given uinfair, harsh sentences in US prisons for monitoring US-based violent groups operating against Cuba. He said appeals filed four years ago by lawyers of the Cuban Five have not had any response by legal instances. Fernando and Rene Gonzalez are back in Cuba after having served fully their sentences given in a trial termed arbitrary by a panel of UN jurists. In the interview, Fernando said that he considers hinself, along with Rene, Gerardo, Antonio and Ramon, as political prisoners held in the United States. Fernando said that though they were not subject to physical aggression, they were mistreated psychologically, above all during 17 months when they were kept in solitary confinement under very restrictive life conditions. "There is nothing real in the charges pressed against Gerardo, Ramon and Antonio for conspiracy to commit espionage, much less in the charge against Gerardo for conspiracy to commit crime," he said. Taken from Prensa Latina