A protest Sunday in front of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington has been planned, in what organizers are calling a “stand in solidarity” to mark three years since Alan Gross was arrested in Cuba.
Gross, a Maryland native, was detained in December 2009 while on a USAID-funded democracy building program. Though he claimed to be helping the island’s small Jewish community gain Internet access, a Cuban court later sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment for crimes against the state.
The Gross case has been a point of contention for US-Cuba relations in recent years. Gross’s health has also deteriorated rapidly and there is a growth on his shoulder that Cuban officials insist is not cancerous.
The protest, which is sponsored by the JCRC of Greater Washington in solidarity with the Gross family, is planned for Sunday at 5 pm at 2630 16th Street, NW, Washington DC 20009.