Washington, June 11 (RHC) -- The struggle for the release of the three members of the Cuban Five who are still serving long sentences in U.S. jails received a new impetus with a day of solidarity actions this Tuesday in Washington, DC, where activists and personalities have gathered for a week to give their support to the cause.

Parliamentarians from 10 countries traveled to Washington, as did lawyers, artists, writers, religious leaders, unionists and friends of Cuba and the Cuban Five.

All of them called for a change in U.S. policy towards Cuba and, in that context, the immediate release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino and Antonio Guerrero.

There are many voices now asking for that change, says activist Alicia Jrapko, coordinator of the International Committee to Free the Cuban Five in the United States.

Representatives from 31 countries attended the event, that got underway on June 4th. "Five Days for the Cuban Five" included in its program a lecture that debated the future of the United States-Cuba relations, a rally in front of the White House, in which more than 500 people took part, and lobbying activities at the U.S. Congress, Jrapko told reporters.

So far, only two of the Cuban Five, as the Cuban anti-terrorists are internationally known -- Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez –- have returned to Cuba after completing their prison sentences.

The Cuban Five were wrongly convicted in 2001 for their monitoring of extremist Cuban-American groups based in the state of Florida, who were organizing terrorist actions against Cuba.