FREE ALAN GROSS!
What you can do:

• Encourage others to share the widget located below (counting Alan's days in captivity) on websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter.
• Send a letter to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington (Mr. Jorge Bolanos, Chief of Mission, Cuban Interests Section, Embassy of Switzerland, 2639 16th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20009) urging the Cuban government to release Alan Gross immediately on humanitarian grounds.
• Contact the White House at 202-456-1414 or by email and your members of Congress (http://www.house.gov), ask to speak to their foreign policy legislative staff and urge them to work to free Alan immediately on humanitarian grounds.
• Using the information below, write a letter about Alan's plight to the editor of your local media outlet.
• Start a vigil calling for Alan Gross’s release in your community.
• Sign a petition to the Cuban leadership calling for the immediate release of Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds.
• Provide us your email to receive updates and make a donation to The JCRC to help us maintain our efforts to free Alan.

Alan Gross Fact Sheet Alan P. Gross is a 62-year old international development specialist. He has a background in social work. He resides in the Washington, DC area with his wife of over 40 years, Judy Gross. Alan and Judy have two adult daughters. Alan has done community and international development work for over 25 years. His work has positively impacted the lives of people in over 50 countries, including the West Bank, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and Haiti. His work has always focused on helping people. Alan has never had any legal trouble in any of the countries he has visited or worked in, until now. Alan has been held in a maximum-security military hospital facility in Cuba since shortly after his arrest on December 3, 2009. For the first 14 months in captivity, Alan was held without charge. In February 2011, he was charged with “acts to undermine the integrity and independence” of Cuba. After a two day trial, he was convicted in March 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His appeal to the Cuban Supreme Court was denied on August 5, 2011. Alan’s health has deteriorated tremendously. He has lost approximately 100 pounds while incarcerated. He is suffering from a number of serious health issues, some of which we fear may become permanent. Alan is under extreme mental strain. In August 2010, the Gross’s then 26-year old daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent, and is recovering from, a double mastectomy. As her father, Alan is understandably distraught that he cannot be by her side to provide her the emotional support she needs at this difficult time. Alan’s wife, Judy, recently underwent surgery as well. She had to miss considerable time from work and only recently has been able to return full time. With Alan’s incarceration, Judy has lost the primary “bread winner” in the family. Thus, in addition to the obvious mental trauma of her husband’s incarceration, she is suffering significant financial hardship which is causing great stress for her, Alan and the entire family. In addition, Alan’s 89-year old mother was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in February 2011. Both Alan and his mother fear that they will never see each other again. Judy Gross has written personal appeals to President Raúl Castro to release her husband for humanitarian and health reasons. Alan Gross also made personal, written appeals to President Castro, going as far as offering to return to Cuba for the conclusion of his case in exchange for being permitted to travel to the U.S. to be with his daughter while she was fighting for her life. These were denied. About Alan’s Work in Cuba Alan’s work in Cuba - on behalf of USAID - was with the peaceful, non-dissident, Jewish community. His work was humanitarian. Alan was in Cuba to help a small community establish an Intranet and improve its access to the Internet. He did not provide anyone with satellite telephones as has been incorrectly reported. In fact, on at least one occasion, Alan’s bags were searched by Cuban authorities and, after paying a tax, he was freely allowed to enter the country with the equipment he was carrying. Alan holds great affection for the Cuban people and culture, and neither his presence nor actions in Cuba were ever meant to, or in fact did, pose any threat or danger to the Cuban government. As he stated at his trial and once again before the Cuban Supreme Court, he never intended his actions to subvert or overthrow the Cuban government. Examples of Alan’s Work Around the World Strengthening the community relations function of a mining operation in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Specifically, Alan helped to develop a community outreach plan and interacted with the locals to help them identify business partners. Assisting efforts to create jobs in the West Bank and Gaza to support a sustainable economic growth strategy. Alan assisted Palestinian and Israeli counterparts in designing a system of policies, procedures and mechanisms to facilitate trade between Israel and the West Bank. Supporting internationally-recognized dairy and agriculture improvement projects in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and the West Bank. Alan helped to design and implement these programs to help local farmers improve their yields.