U.S. doctors see American jailed in Cuba

U.S. doctors see American jailed in Cuba
By Patrick Oppmann, CNN
August 16, 2013 -- Updated 0113 GMT (0913 HKT)

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Alan Gross, a U.S. State Department contractor
jailed in Cuba, received his first visit by American doctors, Gross'
attorney said Thursday.
"A U.S. medical team did visit Alan in early July," Gross' attorney,
Scott Gilbert, wrote CNN in an e-mail. "The family has received the
results and, at least at this time, does not have any plans to release
them to the public."
The doctors' visit was not previously disclosed.
Gross, 64, is serving a 15-year sentence for bringing banned
communications equipment to Cuba as part of a State Department program
to increase access to the internet and spread democracy on the island.
Gross' family has said that his health is failing and had asked that
Cuban authorities allow American doctors to examine him.
Cuban authorities had said that Gross was being adequately cared for in
the military hospital where he is imprisoned, but in June said they had
granted permission for doctors to visit.
The change in course comes as Cuba intensifies its campaign to secure
the release of Cuban intelligence agents serving lengthy prison
sentences in the United States.
Cuban officials argue that the men infiltrated hard-line Cuban exile
groups to prevent terrorist attacks on the island. But U.S. prosecutors
called the men spies, and they were convicted in 2001.
Four of the agents remain in U.S. federal prison. The fifth man, Rene
Gonzalez, returned to Cuba in May after serving 14 years in prison and
on supervised release.
Cuba's talks of a possible prisoner trade have been dismissed by U.S.
officials, who say Gross should be released immediately.
In May, Gross settled with his employer for an undisclosed sum.
He and his wife, Judy, had sued Development Alternatives Inc., and the
U.S. government for $60 million, saying that Gross had not been properly
trained to carry out his work in Cuba. The settlement did not include
the government.
The company hired Gross to fulfill a U.S. Agency for International
Development contract to connect private citizens to the Internet in
Cuba, a scarce commodity on the island. He arrived in Cuba in 2009.

Source: "U.S. doctors see American jailed in Cuba - CNN.com" -
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