VOA News March 04, 2011
The United States has called on Cuba to release an American contractor
who is going on trial in Havana for allegedly supplying dissidents with
communications equipment.
Speaking to reporters Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said the Cuban government should release Alan Gross "unconditionally"
and allow him to return to his family.
Gross, who has been jailed for more than a year, is going on trial
Friday in Havana to face the charge that he violated the "integrity and
independence of Cuba."
Cuban authorities accuse Gross of bringing communications equipment into
the country to supply Cuban dissident groups. He could face 20 years in
prison if convicted.
The trial is expected to last only a day or two and is closed to the media.
Gross was working for a private firm, Development Alternatives
International, contracted by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID).
The firm says Gross was working on a project to bring Internet
communication equipment to members of Cuba's small Jewish community, and
denies he was working with dissidents. The company has since ceased its
activities in Cuba.
No comments:
Post a Comment