Cuban Ambassador to Ghana advocates the release of five detainees

Accra, Oct 14, GNA- United States (US) President, Mr Barrack Obama, has been asked to exercise the rights given to him by the US Constitution and immediately release five Cubans accused of spying. He said the five persons were falsely accused by the U.S. Government of espionage conspiracy against the U.S, and it was necessary to mobilize international public opinion and engage in putting burden on the U.S for their release.

Dr Perez Couz made the call at a public forum and book launch on the "Cuban five and U.S blockade on Cuba", in Accra on Thursday. He said that after their arrest, the five persons had faced major obstacles in the exercise of their rights and had been subjected to cruel punishment including long periods of solitary confinement and denial of visits by their wives.

Dr Perez Couz said the Cuban Government was convinced about their innocence, giving that their only mission in U.S was to monitor terrorist groups that for over the past 50 years have been perpetrating crimes against Cuba with impunity.

"No action taken by the five had ever endangered the security of the United States", he noted.

Dr Perez Couz said he was confident that the struggle for the release of the accused persons, by people, governments and Parliaments, around the world, would be sustained.

Launching the book, titled, "Hoping in Solidarity", Dr Ben Adu, Chief Executive of UCOM Ghana Limited, and a member of Cuba Solidarity Campaign, said the book was compiled by various writers who had idea about what caused the arrest of the five Cubans.

He said the book basically contained expressions of how people felt when they realized the injustice meted out on Cubans, as well as statements of the five persons about how they came together to acquire advanced knowledge of the terrorists.

The book also contained statements of how the five persons associated themselves with each other, and continued to insist on their innocence and how proud they were about what they did and never begged for mercy, he said.

Mr Adu called on human right groups, international media, governments, international organisations and the youth all over the world to join the solidarity campaign and advocacy for the lifting of the economic blockade on Cuba by the US and also for the immediate release of the five Cubans. 14 Oct 2010