Cuban hero wants to go home
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert, one of the Cuban Five, is scheduled to be released from his US prison on October 7th and he wants to go home to Cuba.
His attorney, Phil Horowitz, is asking the court to allow Gonzalez to immediately return to Cuba and join his family, instead of spending three years of parole in the USA.
Gonzalez’ request is opposed by federal prosecutors who want him to have to remain in the US, noted AP. He - like the rest of the Cuban Five - has been in prison for nearly 13 years.
Horowitz told AP that Gonzalez’s mother in Cuba has expressed concern that he might be in danger if forced to serve out probation in the Miami area, home to thousands of Cuban exiles who are virulently opposed to the communist government of Raul and Fidel Castro.
Rene, a 55-year-old US born Cuban, was convicted on conspiracy to commit espionage after having, along with his comrades, infiltrated violence prone Cuban-exile organizations based in southern Florida that operate with the consent of the US government against Cuba and its interests abroad.
Cuba’s parliament chair Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada pointed out the irony in Gonzalez’ potential parole situation when addressing a gathering on Monday of supporters of the Cuban Five at the Astral Theater in Havana.
Alarcon called attention to a post-release sentence of “incapacitation”, whereby Gonzalez would be prohibited from “associating with or visiting specific places where individuals or groups such as terrorists, members of organizations advocating violence are known to be or frequent.”
The parole order is tacit proof that the US government allows terrorist organizations to operate in its territory, contradicting its declared War Against Terrorism in effect since the 911 destruction of the Twin Towers in NYC, noted Alarcon.
The Cuban Five are considered heroes in their country where billboards and posters with their pictures are found throughout the island.
In their 2001 trial, the men maintained that their actions in the US were only geared to stop terrorist attacks on Cuba and that they did not spy on any US government installations.
