British parliamentarians call on John Kerry to grant visitation rights to wives of Miami Five
Campaign News | Thursday, 11 April 2013
Seventy-one British parliamentarians have written to US Secretary of State John Kerry asking him to grant visas to allow two Cuban women, Adriana Perez and Olga Salanueva, to visit their husbands in the United States.
Gerardo Hernandez, imprisoned in U.S.P. Victorville, and Rene Gonzalez, on supervised release in Florida, are two of the Miami Five, five Cuban men unjustly tried and imprisoned since 1998 by the United States government.
Mrs Salanueva and Mrs Pérez, have been denied visitation rights and refused visas to visit their husbands on ten separate occasions. Amnesty International has described the treatment as “contrary both to the standards for the humane treatment of prisoners and to a states’ obligation to protect family life.”
The letter asks that “the government of the United States considers a humanitarian gesture to grant visitation rights and allow these two women to see their husbands again.”
The letter is signed by representatives of both British Houses of Parliament including eight members of the House of Lords and 63 elected MPs.
Rob Miller, Director of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign in Britain said:
“Increasing numbers of the British public and parliamentarians are hearing about the case of the Miami Five and joining the international campaign for their freedom and visitation rights. We urge John Kerry to show that the US is capable of compassion by responding positively to the requests in this letter from British parliamentarians representing millions of UK citizens.”
- Read the open letter to John Kerry and see full list of signatories here
- 126 MPs sign Early Day Motion in support of visitation rights
- British Government says it is "monitoring case"
