National

Plea to free five Cubans jailed in U.S.

V.R. Krishna Iyer, former Supreme Court judge and president, Indian Society of Cultural Cooperation and Friendship, writes:

A dignified demand for Yankee justice and humane denunciation of U.S injustice is necessary if the international order is to respect Cuban human rights. The ISCUF, the Indian Society which is deeply concerned to promote friendship and cooperation with other people is distressingly disturbed by the denial of fair trial and the imposition of harsh conditions of incarceration upon five prima facie innocent Cubans by order of an American Court.

Why do I raise my voice of protest and join the global battle for the Cuban Five now suffering unjust jail life in maximum-security prisons in the U.S.? For a spell they were subject to even solitary confinement, which is an outrage on international criminal justice.

Every nation, however mighty, if signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — and the United States is one — is bound by the fundamentals of fair trial, human dignity and a civilised sentencing policy. The five young men — Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalex, who struggled against terrorist activists in Miami are now the victims of judicial conviction. Their only guilt perhaps, they are Cubans and their only misfortune is, perhaps, they are found in the U.S. Information circulated about the trial indicates incessant hostile local press campaign victimising the accused and polluting the minds of the judge and the jury. Trial by a hostile press is denial of judicial justice. The five young men, it is stated, have not had a fair deal in court. Is it true, as we are told, that evidence itself suffered manipulation by `classification' as secret of what would have proved the innocence of the defendants. Likewise, contrary to the salutary Freedom of Information Act, the request of the accused to introduce official documents was turned down.

I appeal to all lovers of freedom and justice in India, with their faith in global justice order, to raise their voice in defence of the liberty of the five innocent Cubans.

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