U.S. Artists: Free the Cuban 5

Washington, Oct 11. -U.S. artists have sent a letter to President Barack Obama demanding that Cuban antiterrorist fighter, Rene Gonzalez, can freely move, the International Committee to Free the Five stated in a release.Puerto Rico Denounces U.S. Hypocrisy in Retaining Rene

The letter is part of the Actors and Artists united for the release of the Cuban Five campaign and demands the democrat president that Gonzalez should immediately return to Cuba to reunite with his wife, his two daughters and his parents.

Among figures who signed the message are Edward Asner, Jackson Browne, Peter Coyote, Hector Elizondo, Mike Farrell, Richard Foos, Danny Glover, Elliott Gould, Greg Landau, Francisco Letelier, Esai Morales, Michael O'Keefe, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Sarandon, Pete Seeger, Andy Spahn and Haskell Wexler.

Rene Gonzalez, imprisoned in 1998 and sentenced in 2001 to 15 years for conspiracy, was released from prison on October 7 after serving his sentence, but a Florida judge denied him permission to travel and reunite with his family in Cuba.

"Not only the order to serve three additional years of supervised release in the United States is extraordinarily punitive, but also it is a free insult that worsens even more the already deteriorated relations between both countries," the letter states.

During Rene Gonzalez' 13-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison, the government of Washington has denied his wife Olga Salanueva a visa to visit him, the association of solidarity with the Cuban people stated.

The letter to Obama also warns that if Gonzalez stays in the United States, his life is at risk given the aggressiveness of anti-Cuban violent organizations, based in Miami.

On September 16, South Florida District Judge Joan Lenard decided that Gonzalez had to serve three additional years of supervised release without leaving this country, once his 13-year sentence ended.

Lawyers had requested a court that Gonzalez could return to Cuba to reunite his family , due to humanitarian reasons, during these three years.

The Cuban patriot, along with Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, and Fernando Gonzalez, is part of a group, universally known as the Cuban Five.

The Cuban Five were imprisoned on September 12, 1998 after a biased and rigged trial held in Miami that condemned them in 2001 to sentences ranging from 15 years to double life terms. (Prensa Latina)