French Mayor Demands Release of Cuban Five

Paris, Jan 13. -Francoise Baud, the mayor of the French commune of Valenton, condemned the unjust imprisonment of five Cuban antiterrorist fighters and demanded their immediate release.Speaking at a rally in Valenton, Baud and Alain Girard, secretary of the French Communist Party, called on participants to write a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama to demand the release of the Cuban Five, as they are known internationally.

The Valenton Municipal Council, in the department of Val-de-Marne, has taken two measures in favor of the release of Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, who were detained over 13 years ago and whose rights were violated in a rigged trial.

They were sentenced to lengthy prison terms ranging from 15 years to two life terms plus 15 years for having warned their country about terrorist actions by Cuban-American groups based in Miami, Florida.

During the event, Cuban Ambassador to France Orlando Requeijo explained the case, and highlighted the examples of solidarity received from all over the world to demand the release of those patriots. (Prensa Latina)