WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department says an American’s continued captivity in Cuba is “gravely disappointing” as it marks his sixth year in a Cuban prison.
“Tomorrow, development worker Alan Gross will begin a sixth year of unjustified imprisonment in difficult conditions in Cuba,” a state department spokeswoman said.
Cuban authorities arrested Mr. Gross on December 3, 2009, and later sentenced him to 15 years in prison for facilitating uncensored internet contact between a small, religious community on the island and the rest of the world.
“It is gravely disappointing, especially in light of its professed goal of providing Cubans with internet access, that the Cuban government has not allowed Mr. Gross to return to his family, where he belongs. We reiterate our call on the Cuban government, echoing foreign leaders and even Cuba’s allies, to release Alan Gross immediately.”
