Judy Gross has written to Cuban President to ask for the release of her contractor husband U.S. Alan Gross, imprisoned in Cuba for illegally distributing communications equipment, has appealed to the Supreme Court of the island.He was sentenced to 15 years in March when he was accused of making illegal internet connections in Cuba.
Gross, 62, said that he was only trying to help the small Jewish community of Cuba.
He has called his sentence to be dismissed. The official Cuban News Agency, said the Court would "make a final judgment" in the coming days.
Gross appeared in court with a lawyer appointed by the Cuban authorities. His American lawyer was not present. Foreign journalists could not in the Court.
The hearing of appeal brief, less than two hours.
Secret agendaGross was arrested in December 2009. He was in Cuba to work as a contractor for the Agency for international development (USAID) in a secret programme to promote democracy in Cuba.
He was found guilty and sentenced in March by crimes against the State on the Communist island.
The White House requested the prison sentence "another gross injustice" and said that he had already spent too much time in jail.
Judy Gross had already a separate petition to President Raúl Castro the immediate release of her husband for humanitarian reasons.
She wrote a personal letter to Mr Castro saying a few weeks ago that gross daughter and stepmother face both cancer in the United States.
She said her husband suffers from gout, ulcers and has developed arthritis in prison.
United States has said there can be no easing of relations between the two countries until gross.
Michael Voss, BBC in Havana said that the outcome of the appeal should give an indication of whether the Cuban authorities are serious about improving relations with the United States.
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