Last Saturday, 12 September, 2009 marked the eleventh year since Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando and Rene - the five young Cubans - were prosecuted and sentenced by the American government on charges of conspiration and murder as well as terrorism on September 12 1998.

In an effort to see to the freedom of these five young men, the Cuban government including some human rights advocates around the world, last Saturday launched an official campaign for their freedom. In The Gambia however, the Cuban ambassador charge d' affaires, Evangelio Montero, convened a press conference at the embassy complex in Fajara, to join the rest of the people of Cuba and the world in the freedom campaign for the United States government to make an immediate release of the five.

According to him, since last year the international campaign for the Cuba five has been gaining momentum. "But today," Ambassador Montero said, "the Supreme Court of the United States of America announced, without explanation, its decision not to review the case of the five Cubans who are unjustly imprisoned in that country for struggling against ant-Cuban terrorism that was sponsored by the US rulers themselves. The judges did exactly what the Obama administration requested from them," he said.

Ambassador charge d' affaires further announced that in spite of the solid arguments made by the defence attorneys from the obvious and multiple legal violations committed during the whole trial by ignoring the universal backing, to the petition expressed by an unprecedented number of 'friends of the Court', among them ten Nobel prize recipients, hundreds of parliamentarians and numerous US and international jurist organisations of outstanding political and academic personalities, the Supreme Court still rejected the case, thus ignoring the demand of humanity and its obligation to do justice. "We here manifest once again the arbitrariness of a corrupt and hypocritical system and its brutal treatment of our five brothers," Montero insisted.

Ambassador Montero however observed that though the Obama administration is taking some right directions for the freedom of the five, he (Montero) insists that what Cuba wants from the United States is a concrete declaration in a form of written agreement. "If you respect Cuba, Cuba will respect you and our struggle to win the freedom of the Cuba five will never diminish", he said.

The Cuban charge d' affares further expressed certainty that the five will continue leading the battle as they have, during the eleven year period. According to Montero, while responding to the infamous decision of the Court, Gerardo Hern'andez Nordelo, one of the jailed Cuba 5 declared: "Based on the experience we have had, I am not surprised by the Supreme Court's decision. I have no confidence at all in the justice system of The United States".

In conclusion, Ambassador Montero announced that the struggle must be multiplied until the US government is forced to put an end to this monstrous injustice and restore freedom to Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando and Rene, saying "our respect, independence and sovereignty will not be compromised".