UFCW Canada helps Break the Silence for the Cuban Five at Peoples’ Tribunal & Assembly in Toronto

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UFCW Canada helped Break the Silence for the Cuban Five by acting as the primary sponsor for a Peoples’ Tribunal & Assembly in Toronto from September 21 to 23.

The three day conference called “Breaking the Silence! Justice for the Five and Peoples’ Tribunal & Assembly” drew activists from around the world to focus on the need to free the Five, and to map out a united campaign for engaging Canadians and the media about this important human rights cause.

Conference delegates were joined by family members representing René González, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, and Fernando González, the five men – also known as the Cuban Five – who were falsely charged and wrongly convicted for conspiracy to commit espionage against the United States on behalf of the Cuban government. The Cuban Five have been imprisoned by the US government for 14 years.

“Freeing the Cuban Five must be a top priority for any person or organization who believes in the importance of protecting fundamental human rights,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley, who proudly attended the conference and accepted an award on behalf of UFCW Canada for the union’s outstanding contribution to the Free the Five movement. National Representative Emmanuelle Lopez also received an award for her exceptional commitment to the cause.

“As trade unionists and social justice advocates, it is imperative for us as UFCW Canada activists to do everything we can to break the silence about this case and to use our different social networks to gather support for the Five and to show the US government that the world is watching and calling for their immediate release.”

All UFCW Canada activists, friends and supporters are encouraged to visit the ufcw.ca Free the Cuban Five campaign page to send a letter to US President Barack Obama demanding the immediate release of the Five.

To find out more about the Free the Cuban Five movement, please visit www.freethefive.org.