The Sun-Sentinel.
Web-posted: 11:14 p.m. Jan. 23, 2001
Lawyer to identify INS workers who say they were told to destroy Elian
records
By David Cázares, Sun-Sentinel.
MIAMI -- A federal judge has ordered an attorney to divulge the names of
the INS employees who claim they were ordered to destroy documents related to
the Elián González case.
U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno decided Tuesday that Coral Springs
labor lawyer Donald Appignani must disclose the identities of his clients so
attorneys for Elián's great uncle Lázaro González may
interview them.
González, his wife and daughter are suing the federal government
and Miami police, claiming the April 22 raid that removed the boy violated their
constitutional rights. Their lawyers received a break in November, when
Appignani told Guralnick that INS employees had told him they were instructed to
remove "anything derogatory to the Elián González case,"
including pictures, e-mail or computer files.
Citing attorney-client privilege, Appignani declined to reveal his
clients' identities. He said the INS employees feared retaliation from their
employers.
But Guralnick said he needed to interview the employees to determine what
information may have been destroyed, and on whose orders.
Moreno agreed. "It is in the best interest of justice to ascertain
if the serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of government officials
occurred in order to take appropriate disciplinary or remedial action," he
said in his order.
Appignani said he could not comment on the judge's order before
discussing it with his clients.
David Cázares can be reached at dcazares@sun-sentinel.com or
305-810-5012.
Dead Cuban migrant found floating off Marathon
The Associated Press. Web-posted: 9:42 a.m. Jan. 24, 2001
MARATHON -- A dead Cuban migrant's battered body was found floating in
waters just two miles from where a group of Cubans came ashore, officials said.
Nelson Zayas Mayo, 35, drowned but also had extensive head injuries,
the Monroe County medical examiner's office ruled.
The FBI may get involved in the case if Zayas died because of a
criminal act at sea, agency spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said. Officials
interviewed the 15 others who arrived to see if Zayas was part of their group,
but details of the discussions were not disclosed.
Orihuela said most in the group had scrapes, bruises and broken bones,
leading Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Border Patrol agents to think
that the five women, eight men, and two children were packed into a small
go-fast boat and smuggled in over rough seas.
"You can be battered about and obtain those kinds of injuries,"
Orihuela said.
Cuban exile leader Arturo Cobo, a Key West resident, went with the
migrants to Fisherman's Hospital in Marathon on Tuesday to identify the body. He
admitted Zayas might have suffered his injuries on a go-fast, but is puzzled
that the 15 Cubans denied knowing Zayas.
The U.S. Coast Guard said two other groups of Cubans were found in the
Keys the same day as Zayas and the migrants: six arrived in Islamorada around 7
a.m. -- an hour before the 15 Cubans, and 12 were seen off Key Largo around
noon.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Mike Brock said Zayas' body was found Friday
afternoon by a man on a motor boat, making it tough for authorities to pin Zayas
with the 15 migrants.
Communist deputy reveals Cuban findings on detained Czechs
By Ondrej Hejma, Associated Press. Web-posted: 11:11 a.m.
Jan. 24, 2001
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- A former finance minister and a fellow Czech
detained in Cuba were carrying computerized instructions for dissidents from an
American pro-democracy group, a Communist legislator said Wednesday.
The pair had names and addresses of dissidents to meet, along with
computer diskettes and CD-ROMs that were to be turned over to them, Communist
legislator Miloslav Ransdorf told The Associated Press.
He said that the Czech Communist Party had received a letter from
Cuba's Communist government detailing allegations against Ivan Pilip and Jan
Bubenik, arrested Jan. 12 in Ciego de Avila, about 185 miles east of Havana,
after meeting with pro-democracy dissidents.
Cuba and the Czech Republic have no diplomatic ties, and Prague still
has not heard officially about the arrests, which have led to the most serious
impasse between the former Socialist allies in recent years.
Pilip, 37, is a deputy in the Czech Parliament's lower house and a
former finance minister. Bubenik, 32, was a student leader in the 1989 overthrow
of the Communist government in Prague.
Ransdorf said the Cuban letter detailing the allegations claimed that
Freedom House, an American pro-democracy group, had provided the material for
the dissidents. Pilip and Bubenik each received $1,500 for expenses, the letter
alleged.
"The same letter was sent by the Cuban Foreign Ministry to all
embassies in Havana," and would be published by the Czech Communist Party
daily on Thursday, Ransdorf said.
Freedom House has condemned the arrests, expressing solidarity with the
two Czechs "for their efforts to advocate for human rights, democracy and
freedom."
The Cuban Communist Party daily Granma has accused the two of being "American
agents," saying they were charged with acting against Cuban security and
inciting rebellion.
There was no official information on potential sentences, but the Czech
Mlada Fronta Dnes daily said the two could face up to 20 years in prison if
convicted.
The United Nations approved a motion against Cuba's human rights record
that was introduced by the Czech Republic and Poland in April.
Pilip's wife, Lucie, who visited her husband in prison, said the two
were in good spirits and health, and awaiting trial that should take place
within 60 days.
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