The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington has launched an online petition drive asking Cuba to free Alan Gross prior to the High Holy Days. The petition is located at www.jcouncil.org/gross.
“We remain hopeful that this petition will inspire the Cuban authorities to release Alan on humanitarian grounds in time for the upcoming High Holy Days,” said Gross’ wife, Judy Gross. “With this petition I hope we can appeal to President Castro, Foreign Minister Rodriguez and Ambassador Bolanos not only as leaders of a sovereign nation but as fathers and family men who can themselves understand what it would be like to have their family torn apart.”
Gross, of Potomac, Md., was arrested in Cuba in December 2009 and has been incarcerated ever since.
The State Department and Gross’ family say he was working as a contractor to improve Internet access for Cuba’s Jewish community of about 1,500. The main Jewish groups in Cuba denied any knowledge of Gross or the program.
A year after being imprisoned, Gross was convicted by a Cuban court of “actions against the integrity of the state” and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He subsequently appealed his sentence to the supreme court, which reaffirmed the sentence, exhausting all of his legal remedies. The only way Gross can be freed is by a commutation of his sentence by Raul Castro, president of Cuba.