[JURIST] A US federal appeals court has agreed to rehear the appeal of five accused Cuban spies [advocacy website], convicted of serving as unregistered agents of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit espionage. The decision to rehear the case comes after an August decision by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] to overturn [JURIST report, PDF opinion] the men's sentences and convictions, ruling that pre-trial publicity and community prejudice unfairly biased the proceedings. Immediately after the court's August decision, the Cuban government called for [JURIST report] the release of the men, which was not granted. Federal prosecutors asked that the panel's decision be reconsidered [JURIST report] in September, arguing that the decision went against US Supreme Court precedent in similar cases. The five men have admitted being Cuban agents, but claimed to be gathering information on Cuban exiles, not information about the United States. VOA News has more. The Latin American News agency has ongoing coverage of the Miami five.