26-Dec-2011 - Jailed contractor's wife 'heartbroken' over Cuban decision

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(CNN) -- The wife of an U.S. subcontractor jailed in Cuba said Saturday she is devastated that Cuba is not including her husband among the nearly 3,000 prisoners being released on humanitarian grounds. Cuban leader Raul Castro on Friday announced that 2,900 prisoners would be freed, but American Alan Gross was not among them, according to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. "To receive jerseys cheap news in the middle of Hanukkah that the Cuban authorities have once again overlooked an opportunity to release Alan on humanitarian grounds is devastating. Our family is simply heartbroken," Judy Gross said in a statement. The decision to release the prisoners follows "numerous requests" NFL jerseys china from their family members and religious institutions, and is a humanitarian gesture, Among those who to be freed are prisoners over the age of 60, along with those who are sick, female or young with no previous criminal record. With some exceptions, prisoners convicted of spying, terrorism, murder and drug trafficking will not be released. Gross was jailed in December 2009, when he was working as a subcontractor on a U.S. Agency for International Development project aimed at spreading democracy. Castro has accused him of importing satellite equipment to connect dissidents to the Internet, and this year Cuba's highest court upheld the 15-year sentence imposed on Gross for committing crimes against the security of the state. He has maintained his innocence and said he was trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. "Alan is 62 years old, has lost 100 pounds in captivity, NFL shop jerseys is increasingly mentally weak and depressed, and is losing all hope that he will ever see his mother again," Judy Gross said. "I again call on President Raul Castro to show compassion for our family's plight and release Alan during this important holiday for Jews around the world." CNN's Dana Ford contributed to this report.

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