Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida: Media Release: Senator asks Pope Benedict XVI to help seek release of American jailed in Cuba

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) wrote the pope today in advance of a papal trip to Cuba later this month. The Florida Democrat asked the pope to help American Alan Gross during a visit with Cuban President Raul Castro.

“These are especially challenging political and economic times; and, it is my hope that you might be able to bring about a compassionate resolution in this case,” Nelson wrote.

Gross, 62, a subcontractor on a U.S. Agency for International Development program, was sentenced a year ago to 15 years in prison in connection with working on a “subversive” U.S.-sponsored project aimed at undermining Cuba’s communist system, according to an Associated Press report.

The conviction and sentence has been blasted by U.S. diplomats who reportedly have warned Cuba that bilateral relations will not improve as long as Gross is detained. And an attorney for Gross said his client, a Maryland resident who has family in Boca Raton, Florida, is caught up in the long-standing political feud between Cuba and the United States.

Nelson noted in his letter Cuba’s long history of human rights abuses and wrongfully holding dissidents and political prisoners.

Following is the text of Nelson’s letter to Pope Benedict XVI:

March 14, 2012

Most Holy Father,

I am writing to you in advance of your historic trip to Cuba and your March 27 meeting with President Raul Castro. It is with deep respect that I ask your assistance in a humanitarian matter involving an American who remains imprisoned in Cuba – a country with a long history of human rights abuses and wrongful detention of individuals including dissidents and political prisoners.

These are especially challenging political and economic times; and, it is my hope you might be able to bring about a compassionate resolution in the case of Alan P. Gross.

More specifically, Mr. Gross was working for the United States Agency for International Development when he was arrested in Cuba in December of 2009. His contract had him working with a small Jewish community to improve their Internet access. He’s been in jail in Cuba ever since.

It took more than a year for the Cuban government to charge him with a crime; and then, in Cuban court, he was convicted of "actions against the integrity of the state." Mr. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

At this point, Mr. Gross reportedly is in poor health, and his family here in the Washington, D.C. area continues to suffer immensely.

Your Holiness, I humbly ask that you keep the Gross family in your prayers, and that during your visit with President Castro you request a humanitarian release for Alan Gross.

I and many Americans would be most deeply grateful for your efforts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Bill Nelson

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