Detained American Alan Gross told his wife and daughter something they were n't expecting during a recent visit in Cuba : Goodbye . `` Our daughter , Nina , was unprepared to see how gaunt and physically frail her father has become . And his decision to say goodbye to us was wrenching , '' Judy Gross said in a statement released Monday . The former U.S. Agency for International Development subcontractor , who 's been imprisoned for nearly five years , is refusing to see visitors from the U.S . Interests Section in Havana , the statement said . `` Alan has withdrawn , and he told me that his life in prison is not a life worth living , '' said Scott Gilbert , Gross 's attorney . Gross , 65 , is serving a 15-year sentence for bringing satellite communications equipment to Cuba as part of his work as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development . He was convicted in March 2011 . U.S. officials said Gross was merely trying to help Cubans bypass the island 's stringent restrictions on Internet access . But Cuban authorities say Gross was part of a plot to create `` a Cuban spring '' and destabilize the island 's single-party communist government . A letter to U.S. President Barack Obama from 300 rabbis across the United States Monday called for the U.S. government to negotiate his release , describing the situation as `` increasingly urgent . '' `` Alan went to Cuba on behalf of our government . His immediate release from prison in Cuba and return to the U.S. must be a priority for our nation , '' the letter says . `` Indeed , we believe this is a moral imperative . '' Asked Monday about reports that Gross had refused to meet with the new head of the U.S. mission in Havana , State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she could n't provide details due to privacy restrictions . `` Absent written authorization , there 's really not more information I can share about those specific reports , '' she said . U.S. officials have repeatedly pushed for Gross 's freedom , she told reporters . `` We keep his case at the forefront of discussions with the Cuban government , make clear the importance the United States places on his welfare , and we engage also with a range of our foreign counterparts at the highest levels and urge them to advocate for his release , '' she said . `` So we urgently reiterate our call for the Cuban government to release him immediately . '' Last month Judy Gross told CNN that her husband had reached his breaking point . In April , Gross went on a hunger strike to protest the lack of progress between the United States and Cuba over his case . Gross finally heeded his mother Evelyn 's request to end the protest . Last month , Evelyn Gross died from cancer . Cuban officials denied his request to attend her funeral . `` Alan 's emotional deterioration has been severe , '' Gilbert said Monday , `` and his mother 's lingering and painful death has only accelerated this . '' After Bergdahl , will U.S. and Cuba make swap involving Alan Gross ? Other detained Americans .
State Department : `` We urgently reiterate our call ... to release him '' `` His decision to say goodbye to us was wrenching , '' Judy Gross says . Attorney : " I'm sorry for the loss of your son and his family Rabbis to Obama : Negotiating his release is a `` moral imperative ''