NEW YORK—Some 50 people gathered here at Federal Plaza December 8 to demand the release of five framed-up Cuban revolutionaries held for more than 11 years in U.S. prisons, known internationally as the Cuban Five.

The five were railroaded to jail in 1998 by the federal government for the “crime” of monitoring counterrevolutionary groups who were planning violent acts against Cuba (see article on front page). Supporters of the five and opponents of attacks on workers’ rights have waged a campaign to win their freedom since then, which has become international in scope.

The protest here took place the same day that two of the five received new sentences, after a federal court ordered the original trial judge to reduce the draconian prison terms for three of the men.

—BEN JOYCE