• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 03 / 12 / 2011

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Published March 12, 2011. Associated Press. HAVANA -- A Cuban court on Saturday found U.S. contractor Alan Gross guilty of crimes against the state and sentenced him to 15 years in prison, a verdict that is sure to have sweeping repercussions for already-sour relations between Washington and Havana.

The court said prosecutors had proved their case that Gross, 61, was working on a "subversive" program paid for by the United States that aimed to bring down the revolution.

The Maryland native was arrested in December 2009 while working on a USAID backed democracy-building project. The U.S. government and Gross's family say he was working to improve Internet access for the island's Jewish community, and should be released.

But Cuba said the program Gross worked on, part of $20 million in U.S. funded democracy programs, showed that Washington continues to seek the overthrow of the communist government.

The court said the evidence "demonstrated the participation of the North American contractor in a subversive project of the U.S. government that aimed to destroy the Revolution through the use of communications systems out of the control of authorities."

The verdict comes a week after Gross's two-day trial in Havana.

Source: /www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/12/american-contractor-guilty-cuba-994910332/