 |
|
| Email this article | Printer friendly page |
| For Immediate Release | |
| Dec 13, 2001 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
|
Victory For American People And Judicial Watch Clients Jose Basulto and Brothers To The Rescue Castro Should Now Be Prosecuted For Murder (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, rejoiced at the sentencing of Cuban spy Gerardo Hernandez to the maximum sentence of life in prison, for his role in the murder of four Brothers To The Rescue members whose planes were shot down on orders from Fidel Castro by Cuban Air Force fighters on February 24, 1996. Judicial Watch represents Jose Basulto and Brothers To The Rescue. Hernandez was the leader of a Cuban spy ring operating in South Florida which specifically targeted the pro-democracy, humanitarian group Brothers To The Rescue, and its president, Jose Basulto, as well as U.S. military installations. Information from Hernandez and his ring was used by Castro’s Air Force to shoot down the unarmed, civilian, Brothers To The Rescue aircraft in international airspace, as they flew a search and rescue mission for Cuban rafters fleeing the brutal Communist Cuban regime. In October, Judicial Watch filed a complaint with the Belgian Royal Court in Brussels seeking the criminal indictment of Fidel Castro. The criminal complaint, filed on behalf of victims of Castro’s police state, was accepted by the court and assigned to Investigative Magistrate Patrick Colignon. A 1993 Belgian law establishes the right of victims of “crimes against humanity” to file complaints in Belgium, which has claimed universal jurisdiction over such matters. “The conviction and sentencing of Hernandez and his so-called ‘Wasp’ network of communist spies continues to establish and define the murderous, bloody reign of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Unbelievably, the American government continues to refuse to indict Fidel Castro for murder.” “Some measure of justice has finally been achieved for the cold-blooded murder of American citizens on a humanitarian mission,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. “Yet this is only the start, Judicial Watch will not rest until Fidel Castro, the communist dictator with the blood of thousands on his hands has been brought to justice,” he added. |
|
