USA violating Human Rights

[Larissa]

URGENT NEWS RELEASE – THE MIAMI FIVE¨

Amnesty International have again written to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Kathleen Hawk Sawyer (Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons), in response to the alarming decision by the U.S. Authorities to place all five Cubans, known as the “Miami Five, into solitary confinement - without any apparent justification for this action. In three separate letters (14th March), including one to Caroline Heck-Miller (Senior Litigation Counsel), AI has raised it’s concerns that the five’s access to their legal teams is being restricted at such a crucial time in their preparations to meet the 7th April deadline for the filing of their appeal papers.


AI has stated that they have received no response from the Attorney General or the Director of Prisons to their initial concerns, conveyed in December 2002. They have reiterated their initial concerns and raised new issues relating to the recent treatment of the five. I have stated that “all of the five prisoners were placed into solitary confinement in their respective prisons, reportedly on a directive from the Bureau of Prisons, and that visits and telephone calls have been withdrawn. The reasons for such restrictions have not been given, nor is it known how long the prisoners may remain in solitary confinement”.

I have requested that the U.S. authorities provide information explaining why each of the five has been placed under “special measures”, how long these measures will be imposed, how each prisoner may seek a review of such measures and most significantly, full details of the conditions which the prisoners are currently confined. AI stated “we are concerned by reports that lawyers for the prisoners have been unable to visit their clients since the measures were imposed, despite the fact that appeal proceedings are pending in their criminal case”. AI also reminded the U.S. of it’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which they have ratified. I stated: “governments have an obligation under international standards to ensure that no-one is subjected to arbitrary punishment, discrimination or conditions which amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

In recent months the Cuba Solidarity Campaign’s efforts to achieve justice for the “Miami Five” have gathered significant pace. Following the filing of a motion for a retrial in November 2002, 82 members of parliament signed an early day motion in support of a retrial, a move publicly supported by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. In addition, following a meeting convened by CSC with Amnesty International, Susan Lee, AI Program Director for the Americas Region, wrote to U.S. Attorney General and the Director of Federal Prisons to raise concerns over the trial, incarceration and treatment of the five and their immediate families.

The Cuba Solidarity Campaign welcomes the efforts of Amnesty International in its attempts to highlight their concerns regarding the treatment of the Five Cubans currently held in the US. We call for maximum pressure to be applied on the US authorities to uphold international conventions relating to the treatment of the Five.

Contact: Rob Miller, Director, Cuba Solidarity Campaign for further details and campaigning information.

[email protected]
http://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk

This message has been also sent to Nelson Mandela - Amnesty Int'l. and others.

[Larissa]

SERIOUS VIOLATIONS AGAINST GERARDO HERNÁNDEZ



After frequent requests were made to Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Heck Miller in Florida, on March 16th US attorney Leonard Weinglass was able to gain permission to visit Gerardo Hernández - a visit that already had been planned back in February before all of the Cuban Five were placed in solitary confinement.



According to Weinglass, Gerardo is undergoing the most severe punishment in his prison in Lompoc, California, where he is confined to what is known as "the Box" within the Special Housing Unit -a hole within the "Hole". He has been under this regimen since February 28th when he was transferred to solitary without any reason given.



He is confined to a very small cell in which one can walk only three steps, with no windows and only a slot in the metal door through which food is passed. The bars in front are covered with a metal mesh screen through which it is almost impossible to see anything and remain close 24 hours a day.



There is a toilet and a concrete bed with a thin pad in the cell. His clothes were taken from him and he wears just underpants and a T-shirt. No shoes.



He cannot tell when it is day or night. The lights in his cell are the only ones that remain switched on 24 hours a day and the constant cries of other prisoners, many of whom suffer mental health problems, prevent him from sleeping.



No reading material or printed material is allowed. Signs are posted in front of his cell, which states that no one is to have contact with him. He is the only inmate in this segregation regime who is not allowed to use the telephone.



Gerardo has unsuccessfully attempted to register a complaint under the prison's established procedures but has been told that there are no complaint forms available.



On March 2nd he filed an informal complaint, as the correct form had not been supplied to him. He hasn't received a response.



On March 11th the prison authorities brought him a letter from Joaquín Méndez, one of the defense attorneys, but they took it away before he could read it. On March 14th he was told that he would be given his legal mail. However, to date he has received nothing - not even correspondence from his attorneys.



The treatment that is currently being given to Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René is completely illegal and severely obstructs their defense rights when they and their attorneys need to prepare the appeal that is to be presented before April 7th. This cruel, unusual, discriminatory and completely unjustifiable treatment constitutes a flagrant case of torture that has to be strongly and urgently denounced.

[Larissa]

March 17, 2003
IMPORTANT: LATEST UPDATE:
>From the National Committee to Free the Five Cuban Political Prisoners in the United States
415-821-6545. fax: 415-821-5782. www.freethefive.org

Dear Friends of the Cuban Five:
A small but very important step toward freeing our five brothers from the isolation cells they've been locked in, was achieved. Two days ago, the attorneys' rights to visit their clients was restored. For the last three weeks, not even the five appeals lawyers were allowed to see or talk with the five Cuban anti-terrorist heroes. However, the lawyer-client privilege of confidentiality is still denied, as monitoring of their conversations will be instituted.

The cells that Gerardo, Fernando, Rene, Ramon and Antonio have been imprisoned in are tiny, with lights on 24 hours a day, no way to know if it is night or day, and no contact with other people. This is psychological torture and nothing less, meant to punish the Five Cuban heroes, who have never faltered in their defense of their country and principles of justice.

Their isolation is keeping them from contacts with their families and attorneys, and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Unfortunately, many thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are in the same isolation cells (SHUs) that have been roundly condemned for their cruelty.

This last week, a mass mobilization was launched through the Internet, by the Cuban 5 committees in the U.S. and around the world. Many hundreds of calls and e-mails were made to Attorney General John Ashcroft and Bureau of Prison director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, demanding their release from the "hole." By all your actions, we let the government know we are vigilant of
the situation and protest every punitive move against the Five Cuban brothers, and that we will continue to struggle for their freedom.

Keep the pressure up! Don't stop calling or e-mailing the
Attorney General and the Bureau of Prisons to call for their immediate release from isolation. Please organize a meeting in your community on the Five. Check our website: www.freethefive.org for the available resources and to see how you can help.

According to Antonio Guerrero's attorney Leonard Weinglass, the solitary confinement is part of a "special administrative" order, from the Attorney General to the BOP for implementation. The order claims that the Five's contacts with other people - by mail or in person - could result in the unauthorized disclosure of information that "could pose a threat to the national security of
the United States."

This is a complete fabrication as the Five brothers never had anything to with information related to U.S. national security, or classified material. They were protecting Cuba from the Miami terrorists, unless the U.S. government considers the terrorists part of their "national security."

The order lasts for one year and can be extended at any time by Ashcroft.

Severe restrictions on their communication with the outside world are in effect. Please be very conscious of the difficulties they face at the moment. Please write to them to give them encouragement and the warmth of your friendship and solidarity, although if you see the urgent update about Gerardo Hernández, he is not getting ANYTHING to read. They may only be able to
respond with a very limited number of letters, because they are given only a few stamps in the "hole." So far only Fernando González has been able to write.

We will keep you posted. Please contact us if you have any questions. Again, thank you all for your great responses. Free the Five!

http://www.freethefive.org