Cuba's high court on Friday upheld the 15-year sentence imposed on US contractor Alan Gross, jailed since his arrest in late 2009 on accusations of espionage, according to an official statement. The rejection of Gross's appeal is sure to anger long-time foe Washington, where US government officials have called for his immediate release, and further undermine the gentle rapprochement between Cuba and the United States since President Barack Obama entered the White House.
Gross, 62, was arrested in December 2009 for bringing satellite phones and equipment to the communist island's Jewish community while working as an independent contractor for a democracy-building program funded by the US Agency for International Development.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court's chamber for crimes against the state "issued a final decision in rejecting a challenge by the US citizen," according to a statement posted on the Cubadebate (www. cubadebate.cu) official website. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison on March 12 for "endangering the independence and security" of the Cuban state. At the time, Washington slammed the sentence as "another injustice," while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "deplorable."
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