Posted on 08/05/2011 3:17:04 PM PDT by Hunton Peck
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's highest court upheld a U.S. government subcontractor's 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state on Friday, ending the legal side of a case that has chilled already-icy relations between Washington and Havana.
The ruling means 62-year-old Alan Gross, a Maryland native who has been behind bars for more than a year and a half, has no further judicial recourse to appeal his sentence. It leaves him, his family and U.S. officials hoping instead for a release on humanitarian grounds.
Gross, who has been behind bars since his arrest in December 2009, was found guilty in March of bringing satellite and other communication equipment into the country illegally. He has acknowledged he was working on a USAID-funded democracy program, but says he meant no harm to the government and was trying to help the island's tiny Jewish community.
On Friday, the Supreme Court "issued a definitive resolution denying the appeal filed by the U.S. citizen Alan Phillip Gross and his lawyer against the sentence issued by the People's Provincial Tribunal of Havana," said a note published on state-run website Cubadebate.
During the initial trial, the court found, "it was demonstrated that (Gross) illegally introduced telecommunications equipment in Cuba to create internal networks as part of a program of the government of the United States that aimed to promote destabilizing actions in the country and subvert Cuban constitutional order."
Prominent Jewish leaders in Havana have denied working with Gross.
"While we are not surprised, we are extremely disappointed with today's ruling, which marks the end of Alan's legal process in Cuba," Gross' U.S. lawyer, Peter J. Kahn, said in a statement. "The family is heartbroken by today's decision, but remains hopeful that there continues to be room for a diplomatic resolution of this matter."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Cuba should advertise time in its jails as a “Weight Loss Program”. That could bring in some extra dinero.
I agree. There is a big difference between bringing hammer with your luggage on a humanitarian mission than computer equipment that can access the internet.
This sort of crap happened occasionally during the Cold War, the USGov would arrest a Soviet spy (one that was already exposed and under surveillance for a long time) and use him as a bargaining chip to get our guy out.
Was this "Internet in a suitcase"?
That dude must be as dumb as a sack of bricks. You DON’T bring that kind of equipment into Cuba.
I wouldn’t blame Cuba one bit if they don’t release him early.
What he did is on par with trying to actively overthrow the Cuban govt.
That dude must be as dumb as a sack of bricks. You DON’T bring that kind of equipment into Cuba.
I wouldn’t blame Cuba one bit if they don’t release him early.
What he did is on par with trying to actively overthrow the Cuban govt.
Good for him! Somebody oughta force those Commies outta down there! Especially since US Liberals helped fund Castro and put him in and then he thumbed his nose at them and turned to the Soviets.
How much does he know — and how bad do we want him back? Under whose orders was he operating — or was he a “free agent”? Or, did he just make a mistake?
How about we tell Cuba. “Give him back — or we put a nuke down Fidel’s chimney.” We’ve needed to do that for a long time anyway ;-)
There are no “prominent Jewish leaders” in Cuba. The idea is laughable.
...a case that has chilled already-icy relations between Washington and Havana... 62-year-old Alan Gross, a Maryland native who has been behind bars for more than a year and a half... since his arrest in December 2009, was found guilty in March of bringing satellite and other communication equipment into the country illegally. He has acknowledged he was working on a USAID-funded democracy program, but says he meant no harm to the government and was trying to help the island's tiny Jewish community... Prominent Jewish leaders in Havana have denied working with Gross.Or else. I love that pro-Zero spin at the beginning -- "chilled already-icy relations" -- what a crock.
No, what he did was about freedom of speech in a dictatorship that wants to maintain one of the world’s two largest political prison camps. Cuba can broadcast into the US all it wants, and it does.
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