Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Cuban representative, Juan Antonio Quintanilla, criticized the incarceration of Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez —internationally known as the Cuban Five–– in a discussion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Prensa Latina news agency reports.

Quintanilla highlighted the work of the Group on the cause of the Cuban Five and noted that, instead of observing the Group’s considerations, Washington continued to carry out its political manipulation.

He added that these men went through a biased judicial process, politically motivated, and that they were denied access to 80 % of the documents used to incriminate them and to the regular meetings with their lawyers.

The Cuban delegate pointed out that the re-sentence process of three of the Cuban Five, presented by the US government as response to the Working Group, is just an attempt to conceal the truth.

“The only fair re-sentence would be the immediate release of these innocent antiterrorists”, affirmed Quintanilla.

On July 12, 2008, Granma newspaper published a statement by the Cuban National Assembly of the People’s Power, which asserted that Gerardo, Antonio, Rene, Ramon and Fernando were imprisoned for trying to prevent terrorist actions against Cuba by right wing groups based in Miami.

The statement urged all parliaments around the world to carry out actions for the release of the Cuban Five.