Write to President Obama demanding that Rene Gonzalez be returned home
Campaign News | Thursday, 27 October 2011
Following a judge's decision to force Rene Gonzalez to serve his 3 years parole in Florida, rather than being allowed to return home to Cuba, we are calling on supporters to write to President Obama appealing this decision.
You can write in your own words, or use all or part of the model letter below. A link to the White House contact site to send your email is at the bottom of the page.
Write in your own words or use the letter below:
Dear President Obama,
I am writing to request that you allow René González to return to Cuba on his release from prison on 7 October 2011, rather than being forced to spend three years on probation in Florida, away from his family and country.
In September, Judge Joan Lenard issued an order which forces González to live in Florida on his release. Her decision also dictates certain conditions of parole, including prohibiting him “from associating with or visiting specific places where individuals or groups such as terrorists, members of organizations advocating violence, organized crime figures are known to be or frequent..." Those terrorists, the very ones whose actions González was in the U.S. to monitor and expose, pose a constant danger to him while he is forced to reside in the United States.
Furthermore, González' wife, Olga Salanueva, has been continually denied visas to enter the U.S. to visit him in prison, and as a result the two have not seen each other since August, 2000 - more than eleven years. If forced to remain in the US, Olga would be prevented from seeing her husband for a further three years, a further cruel punishment for René and his family.
I urge you to intervene in this case and allow Rene to return to Cuba, rather than be forced to stay in Florida, which would not only be cruel but potentially threatening to his safety. Amnesty International has already raised concerns about the fairness of his trial, and the inhumane punishment he is being subjected to by being denied visits from his wife.
Please act now so that this injustice does not needlessly continue for another three years.
Yours sincerely
