About the CNC -Your Province- British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba; Ontario Quebec New Brunswick P.E.I. Nova Scotia Newfoundland & Labrador -Explore Our Site- About the CNC Features Documents Books Health Terrorism Environment Prostitution Column: Karen Wald Column: Susan Hurlich Films about Cuba Resources Travel info Canadian Government Photos; Projects Internships Cuba News Cuba Embassy Travellers' Enquiries Cuba Events Calendar Travel tips! Havana from Space Havana Weather General Inquiries Website Comments

Canadian Network on Cuba Working in friendship and solidarity with Cuba 900 Dynes Rd., Apt. 1807 Ottawa, Ont. K2C 3L6 613-225-6232 cnc@canadiannetworkoncuba.ca. www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca Read the CNC Media Release here or proceed to the attachments below. Attachment 2 of 3 - Petition to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier Francine Lalonde Députée de La Pointe-de-l'île Porte-parole du Bloc Québécois en matière d'affaires étrangères Translation December 12, 2007 The Honourable Maxime Bernier, PC, MP Minister of Foreign Affairs House of Commons Ottawa Dear Minister: For over nine years now, five Cubans - Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González and René González - have been in prison in the United States. In December 2001 in Miami, following an unfair trial, they were all given heavy sentences ranging from 15 years to two consecutive life sentences. Both the trial and the conditions in which the five men are being held violate the American Constitution and international law. On May 27, 2005, the United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which reports to the UN Human Rights Council, concluded that the imprisonment of the "Cuban Five" was arbitrary and violated international law. The Working Group called on the United States government to take steps to rectify the situation. In August 2005, the Federal Court of Appeal, 11th Circuit, also ruled that the trial had been biased. In a 93-page decision, the panel of three judges analysed the proceedings in detail, and concluded that admitted agents of the Cuban government could not expect an impartial trial in Miami. They ordered a new trial, to be held elsewhere. On October 31, 2005, the American government appealed this decision to the full bench of 12 judges of the 11th Circuit of the Court of Appeal. In the meantime, on February 8, 2007, more than 110 members of the British Parliament joined with more than 10,000 Britons and signed an open letter calling on the United States Attorney General, Alberto González, to release the Five. Amnesty International has called for a new trial, saying in a letter to the State Department that it was extremely concerned about the justice of the sentences. . . . / 2 Translation The Honourable Maxime Bernier Minister of Foreign Affairs December 12, 2007 Page 2 On August 9, 2006, the full bench of the Atlanta Court of Appeal overturned the 2005 decision. They recognized the biased political climate in Miami, but ruled that the trial judge had taken sufficient corrective measures to counter the problem. They therefore rejected the demand for a new trial for the Five. The five men are detained in five separate maximum-security prisons and kept for long periods in isolation cells. Two of them have even been refused the right to visits by their families. Since the Atlanta Court of Appeal ruled that the convictions of the five Cubans were invalid, nothing justifies keeping them behind bars. We cannot allow this extremely painful situation for these five Cubans and their families to drag on. c.c.: Michael Mukasey, United States Attorney General David Wilkins, American Ambassador to Canada We the undersigned Bloc Québécois Members of Parliament demand justice for the Five and their families MP's signature Riding Francine Lalonde Députée de La Pointe-de-l'île Porte-parole du Bloc Québécois en matière d'affaires étrangères Attachment 3 of 3 - Signature page of MP Libby Davies The Canadian Network on Cuba was founded on September 2, 2002 by representatives of Canada-Cuba solidarity organizations, trade unions, NGOs, and political parties.