'He will not endure another year,' says wife of American imprisoned in Cuba

'He will not endure another year,' says wife of American imprisoned in Cuba
By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
December 3, 2014 -- Updated 0607 GMT (1407 HKT)

It's been five years since Cuban authorities arrested Alan Gross
The former State Department subcontractor is serving a 15-year prison
sentence
"After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done," his wife says
The State Department renews its call for Cuban authorities to release Gross
(CNN) -- Judy Gross says she doesn't know how much longer her husband
can make it. But she's scared it won't be long.
"Alan is resolved that he will not endure another year imprisoned in
Cuba, and I am afraid that we are at the end," she said in a statement
released Wednesday.
Her comments come on the five-year anniversary of the day when Cuban
authorities arrested her husband, Alan Gross, who'd been working as a
subcontractor the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Alan Gross, 65, is serving a 15-year sentence for bringing satellite
communications equipment to Cuba as part of his work as a State
Department subcontractor. He was convicted in March 2011.
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"After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done," Judy Gross
said. "It is time for President Obama to bring Alan back to the United
States now; otherwise it will be too late."
The Cuban government has called for a prisoner swap: Gross for three
imprisoned Cuban intelligence agents serving lengthy federal prison
sentences in the United States.
But the U.S. State Department has nixed that idea, saying Gross was an
aid worker merely trying to help Cuba's small Jewish community get
online despite Cuban government restrictions on Internet access.
Frustrated by the diplomatic impasse, Gross has threatened to kill
himself if he isn't freed soon.
In July, he said goodbye to his wife and daughter and has refused to see
them again while he's imprisoned.
He's also refused to meet with U.S. diplomats in Havana in protest over
the slow progress to free him.
On Wednesday, his family warned that his health is deteriorating. He's
lost more than 100 pounds, he can barely walk because of chronic pain
and he has lost five teeth and much of the sight in his right eye, the
family's statement said.
The State Department renewed calls for his release on Tuesday, decrying
his "unjustified imprisonment in difficult conditions in Cuba."
"It is gravely disappointing, especially in light of its professed goal
of providing Cubans with Internet access, that the Cuban government has
not allowed Mr. Gross to return to his family, where he belongs," the
State Department said. "We reiterate our call on the Cuban government,
echoing foreign leaders and even Cuba's allies, to release Alan Gross
immediately."
Last month, U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake and Tom Udall traveled to Cuba to push
for the former State Department contractor's release, calling his
imprisonment an impediment to improving U.S. relations with the island
nation.
Gross was arrested in 2009, accused of smuggling in the banned
communications equipment.
U.S. officials said Gross was merely trying to help Cubans bypass the
island's stringent restrictions on Internet access. But Cuban
authorities say Gross was part of a plot to create "a Cuban spring" and
destabilize the island's single-party communist government.
More on detained Americans

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