26 March 2009 Two Cuban nationals, whose husbands are serving lengthy prison sentences in the USA, have been denied temporary visas allowing them to visit their husbands for the ninth time.
Adriana Pérez and Olga Salanueva's husbands are part of a group known as the "Cuban Five" or "Miami Five". René González and Gerardo Hernández have been imprisoned since 1998. They were found guilty of "acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government" and related charges.
In August 2005, the convictions of all the Cuban Five were overturned by an appeals court and a retrial was ordered, on the ground that pervasive hostility toward pro-Castro Cubans in Miami (where the trial was held) was prejudicial to the accused.
This decision was reversed on 9 August 2006 by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on a finding that no such prejudice had been shown in the selection of the tri al jury.
Adriana Pérez's latest application was rejected in January 2009 due to her status as "non-eligible" under the US Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. This legislation restricts the "issuance of visas to non-immigrant's from countries that are state sponsors of international terrorism."
Olga Salanueva's most recent application was refused on the grounds that she was deported from the US in November 2000. She has been told that she is now permanently ineligible for a visa.
Although some Cuban relatives in the case of all five prisoners have been granted visiting visas, they have experienced considerable delays ranging from a couple of months to two years before learning their applications were successful.
Prior to her deportation in 2000, during René González's trial, Olga Salanueva had been living legally in the USA . She was subsequently granted a visa to visit her husband in March 2002, which was revoked on 23 April 2002, shortly before her trip.
In 2002, Adriana Pérez obtained a visa to visit her husband but was detained upon arrival in the USA and expelled 11 hours later.
The US authorities have denied successive visa applications from both women over the course of seven years. The reasons cited for the denials are based on claims that both women are threats to national security. Yet neither woman has faced charges in connection with such claims, nor has any credible evidence been produced to substantiate the allega tion.
Over the years, the grounds cited for denying temporary visas has varied, highlighting an inconsistency in the authorities' reasoning for prohibiting the women's visits to their husbands.
Amnesty International has repeatedly raised the issue with the US authorities since 2002 because it believes that denying the men visits from their wives is unnecessarily punitive and contrary to standards for humane treatment of prisoners and states' obligations to protect family life.
The organization has said that it believes that this deprivation is particularly harsh given the length of the men's sentences (René González has been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment and Gerardo Hernández to life imprisonment) and the questions that have been raised about the fairness of the men's convictions.
Amnesty International has urged that these restrictions be reviewed, drawing the US government's attention to international standards that stress the importance of the family and the right of all prisoners to maintain contact with their families and to receive visits.
The organization said that in the case of prisoners whose families live outside the USA, indefinite or even permanent denial of visits from the prisoner's immediate family is a severe deprivation to the individual.
Amnesty International is calling on the US government to grant temporary visas to the two women for visitation purposes as soon as new applications are made.
"I am generally not a crier. It takes a lot to make me tear up at movies... Yet I cried like a baby at this. There's something this video does for me that witnessing protests and pounding out blog posts and reading op-eds just doesn't do. This isn't a political football. This isn't an abstract debate. This is about people." -- Ann Friedman, The American Prospect
Over 300,000 people have watched this video, finding out about it from a friend by email or on Facebook, Twitter and blogs. And over 100,000 people have signed our letter to the state Supreme Court, asking them to invalidate Prop 8, reject Ken Starr's attempt to nullify 18,000 same-sex marriages, and let all loving, committed couples marry in California.
Our friends at MoveOn are calling this video "one of the most incredible actions we've ever seen." Indeed, the love infused in the authentic images of "Fidelity," in concert with Regina Spektor's beautiful song, has provoked a strong response from people across the country, gay and straight alike. Many people have told us that it has helped them express the meaning of marriage equality to their friends and family -- and the pain caused by the passage of Prop 8 -- for the first time.
Opportunities to change the hearts and minds of Americans on same-sex marriage don't come along very often. Based on this unprecedented reaction, we think "Fidelity" is one of them.
"Fidelity" has struck a deep chord across the political spectrum. Andrew Sullivan, a leading conservative writer for the The Atlantic magazine, wrote:
"In the end, the marriage debate is about whether it is in the interest of society as a whole to attack and demean couples who are constructing loving, committed strong relationships, with the help of their friends, families and government.
Whatever else it is, the attempt to break up these relationships, to deny and invalidate the hopes and dreams they aspire to, is both cruel and deeply hostile to any conservatism that seeks to bring people together around the shared values of family, fidelity and responsibility. Maybe this video will help bring that home."
Thank you to the amazing people who sent us these wonderful pictures. Thank you to Regina Spektor for her beautiful song. And thank you for sharing "Fidelity" with your friends today.
Rick Jacobs Chair
P.S. Here's what Michael Jones had to say over at Change.org:
Courage Campaign Issues is part of the Courage Campaign's online organizing network that empowers nearly 500,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change in California.
Wednesday, February 25 7:30 pm Is Malcolm X Still Relevant Today?: Politics in the Age of Obama Jasmin Young, Lee Bynum and Garrett Felber
Join a panel of activists and intellectuals to discuss the legacy of Malcolm X and if he is still relevant in today's society. As one of the foremost Black orator, agitator and activist of Black Nationalism, Malcolm's legacy is remembered by many. In the last year of his life, Malcolm attempted to mount a movement based on Human rights, self-determination and community control. For him, integration was not a viable option he believed American capitalism and imperialism were perils of human rights. However, recent developments in our society including the first Black President leads us to question if Malcolm X is still relevant today.
Sliding scale: $6/$10/$15 Free for Brecht Forum Subscribers
Location: Brecht forum @451 West Street (between Bank & Bethune Streets), NYC
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