Alan Gross, a U.S. government contractor who has been jailed in Cuba for over four years, started a hunger strike last week, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
“I am fasting to object to mistruths, deceptions, and inaction by both governments, not only regarding their shared responsibility for my arbitrary detention, but also because of the lack of any reasonable or valid effort to resolve this shameful ordeal,” Gross said in a statement to his lawyers, reports The Washington Post.
Gross, 64, began his hunger strike last Thursday. He was arrested in 2009 while trying to help the small Jewish community on the Communist-run island get Internet access, reports the Associated Press. The program was funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has tried to promote democracy in Cuba. The government believes USAID’s efforts are illegal, so Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
By fasting, Gross is also hoping to bring attention to the U.S. government’s inaction in his situation. He has tried to call on President Barack Obama in the past, saying that he is dealing with “inhumane treatment” in a Cuban prison.
Gross’ situation received renewed interest after another USAID program was revealed last week. The AP uncovered documents that showed that USAID set up a ‘Twitter-like’ social network to try to spark unrest.