Havana, Mar 10 (Prensa Latina) The Group of Cuban Athletes for the Release of the Cuban Five have compiled over 11,500 signatures among nationals and foreigners demanding the release of these men.

Sportspeople, retired workers and other members from this sector, started this campaign amidst the struggle for the return to homeland of Cuban child Elian Gonzalez, kidnapped in Miami in 1999.

Now they do the same for the freedom of Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino and Gerardo Hernandez, who are serving harsh sentences in that northern nation ranging from 15 years to double life imprisonment.

The real crime of the Cuban Five, as they are known in ongoing international campaigns for their release, consisted of gathering information about terrorist plots by anti-Cuban organizations in Miami, in an effort to prevent the deaths of Cuban and US citizens.

These athletes attended demonstrations condemning the US murderous laws, celebrations for the anniversary of the Cuban revolutionary attack on the Presidential Palace and visits to the house where Jose Marti was born, the digital newspaper noted.

On September 28, 2004, one of the Cuban Five, Gerardo Hernandez, sent a greeting to the group of Cuban athletes from the federal prison of California.