Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 310: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will actively support the National Lawyers Guild USA in their call for the UN to investigate the case of the Miami 5. [22405/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The case to which the Deputy refers relates to five Cuban citizens who were convicted in the US in 2001 on charges ranging from espionage to first degree murder. A panel of three judges from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta overturned the 2001 convictions on 9th August 2005 and ordered a retrial based on new evidence. The Miami District Attorney duly filed an appeal against this decision and, following an appellate hearing on 14 February 2006, a 10-2 decision to uphold the 2001 convictions was issued on 9 August 2006.

I understand that a number of non-governmental organizations, including the organization named by the Deputy, continue to pursue issues relating to the convictions in question. However, as I have made clear in my replies to the Deputy's previous Parliamentary Questions on this issue, I do not think it appropriate for Ireland to become involved in these cases.