Calls For The Release of "The Five" in Costa Rica
Dozens of people, including various foreigners, demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in San José for the release of the five Cubans imprisoned in the United States since 1998 for combating terrorism.

The vigil, convened by the Costa Rica Solidarity with Cuba Committee, took place on Monday night as part of the international campaign to expose the injustice committed against Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, René González, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González.

The participants included academics, writers, professors, theologians, trade unionists, university and college students, as well as citizens from Switzerland, the United States, Peru, South Africa, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile present here.

During the demonstration, which lasted around two hours, various people spoke to explain to those present and passersby aspects of the rigged trial, while condemning the violation of the Cuban people’s human rights by the U.S. government.

The Five, as they are known in the international campaign for their release, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 years to double life after a trial in Miami.

The group confined themselves to monitoring the terrorist activities of anti-Cuban organizations located in southern Florida and as the defense demonstrated, their work never endangered US national security.

With its vigil, the Costa Rica Solidarity with Cuba Committee closed a hardworking year in favor of the cause of the Five, considered heroes in that country.

As part of the campaign and under the slogan "Five for the Five," it organizes activities on the fifth of every month to break down the wall of silence that the Costa Rican press has tried to impose around the case.