WASHINGTON (AFP/EJP)---The US State Department has spoken once again of its “concern” for a Jewish American contractor jailed in Cuba, amid reports on Thursday that he is no longer able to walk and has lost an excessive amount of weight during his two years detention in the Communist country.

Alan Gross, 63, was arrested in the capital city of Havana in December 2009, charged with “acts against the independence or territorial integrity” of the Cuban state for distributing laptops and communications equipment to the island’s small Jewish community on behalf of the US State Department, and subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Department spokesman Victoria Nuland issued a statement confirming the US government is trying to influence Cuban authorities to provide accurate information regarding Gross’ reportedly deteriorating health to his family, as well as the level of medical care he is receiving in jail.

According to Nuland, “he has lost more than 100 pounds since his arrest. He suffers from severe degenerative arthritis and is no longer able to walk in his cell. He has other health problems that cause pain and require treatment”.

US President Barack Obama has attempted to use his limited influence with the Cuban administration to lobby for Gross’ release since his election in 2008, supporting an appeal by the imprisoned American for permission to return to the US to visit his seriously ill mother, which has so far been refused by Fidel Castro’s regime.

Cuba has insisted it will only consider releasing Gross if the US frees five Cuban members of a spy ring from its custody. Cuba claims the group, known as the Cuban Five, who were found guilty of trying to infiltrate US military institutions in South Florida, were intelligence agents gathering information on Cuban terrorist activities in the Florida area, rather than spying on the US government.

Speaking on behalf of the State Department, Nuland appealed for Gross’ conviction to be overturned: “We call on the government of Cuba to release Alan Gross immediately and allow him to return to his family, bringing to an end this injustice that began more than two years ago”, she said. 

A US Jewish group has also made significant efforts to lobby for his release. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) has staged weekly vigils outside the Cuban interest section in the US capital to raise awareness of his case, as well as sending him personal letters from local Jewish students.

In a statement released to the media by the JCRC, Gross thanked the organisation for its work in bringing his plight to public notice, saying “It’s very comforting to know I’m not forgotten, it helps to sustain me”. Speaking of Cuban “cruelty to my mother” in refusing him permission to visit her, he described it as “difficult to bear”.