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Cuban spies appeal for US retrial Cuba spies appeal US convictions
(about 15 hours later)
A US federal appeals court in Atlanta is due to reconsider whether there are grounds for a retrial of five Cubans convicted of spying for Havana. Five Cubans convicted in the US of spying for Havana have appealed for a retrial, saying they were found guilty because of anti-Castro bias.
They were arrested in 1998 and found guilty in a Miami court on charges including using false identities and conspiracy to commit espionage. The men, known as the Cuban Five, were arrested in 1998 and convicted of charges such as using false identities and conspiracy to commit espionage.
Three were given life terms, the other two 15 and 19 years in jail.Three were given life terms, the other two 15 and 19 years in jail.
Cuba's government says the trial was political and accuses the US of double standards in the fight against terror. US prosecutors insist the men were found guilty after a "soberly-tried case" that was based on hard evidence.
If there is one issue in Cuba which the authorities use to rally anti-American sentiment, it is the case of the men known as the Cuban Five. It is the third time the five - Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez - have sought to appeal against their 2001 convictions.
They are considered national heroes and figure prominently on billboards all over the country and are the subject of regular rallies and demonstrations. National heroes
The Cuban government says they were not in Miami to spy on the US but to prevent anti-Castro exile groups from launching what it calls terrorist attacks on Cuba. Defence lawyers told the Atlanta appeals court the US government committed several acts of misconduct during the men's trial and their sentences were unduly harsh.
Irma Gonzalez: US applied double standards in jailing her father Lawyers said the US had used "[Cuban leader Fidel] Castro's evil to argue for the defendants' criminal guilt", displaying a large photo of Mr Castro in front of the jury at the trial.
The government did not exploit red-baiting in this case Caroline Heck MillerUS prosecutor
Cuba's government says the men were not in Miami to spy on the US but to prevent anti-Castro exile groups from launching what it calls terrorist attacks on Cuba.
The year before they were arrested there had been a bombing campaign against tourist sites in Havana. An Italian national was killed and several Cubans injured.The year before they were arrested there had been a bombing campaign against tourist sites in Havana. An Italian national was killed and several Cubans injured.
The president of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, is leading the country's international campaign to secure a retrial. US prosecutors said in court documents that the men's trial was conducted based on hard evidence, "with great care and professionalism".
When we met, he produced US court documents of an Iraqi agent allegedly caught spying on anti-Saddam groups in Chicago. He was jailed for less than four years. "This was a soberly tried case. It was squarely based on evidence ... The government did not exploit red-baiting in this case," government lawyer Caroline Heck Miller told the court.
"The court of appeal needs to explain how an agent of Saddam Hussein was treated fairly and not identified as an enemy spy for monitoring Iraqi exiles while our people... were considered a danger to the US," Mr Alarcon said. Crowds lined the streets outside the courtroom to watch proceedings.
Third appeal The men are considered national heroes in Cuba - they figure prominently on billboards all over the country and are the subject of regular rallies and demonstrations, says the BBC's Michael Voss in Havana.
The daughter of one of the five, Irma Gonzalez, believes the US is applying double standards in the fight against terror. 'Double standards'
Her father, Rene Gonzalez, has now spent nine years behind bars. The president of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, who is leading an international campaign to secure a retrial, told BBC News the US is applying double standards in the fight against terror.
She was 14 and living in Miami with him when he was arrested. She and her mother were later expelled and she is now back in Cuba studying psychology. He said an Iraqi agent allegedly caught spying on anti-Saddam groups in Chicago was jailed for less than four years, "while our people... were considered a danger to the US".
"I think the US government believes there is good terrorism and bad terrorism. So the life of Cubans isn't worth anything. You can kill here, plant bombs in hotels and that's not terrorism. But if something happens in the United States, that's very bad terrorism," she said. The verdict was initially ruled unsound because it was believed the men could not have received a fair trial in Miami, which has a large Cuban exile community. That ruling was later overturned.
This is the third time the case has gone before an appeals court.
Initially the verdict was ruled unsound because the men could not receive a fair trial in Miami, which has a large Cuban exile community. That ruling was later overturned.
Now the federal appeals court in Atlanta is hearing oral submissions on defence claims about lack of evidence and the length of the sentences. It must then decide if there are grounds for a retrial.