AP, The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the family of a Maryland man held in Cuba for two years says the Cuban government has “refused to engage in any meaningful dialogue” to resolve the case.

Saturday marked two years since Alan Gross was arrested in Cuba for bringing restricted communications onto the island. Gross says he was only helping the island’s small Jewish community access the Internet, but the 62-year-old was sentenced this year to 15 years in prison.

Cuban officials in Washington released a statement late Friday saying that Gross conducted “undercover activities” in Cuba and was part of a program aimed at “disrupting the constitutional order in Cuba.”

The Gross family’s lawyer, Peter Kahn, called that suggestion “preposterous” on Monday. He said Gross and his family are being used as “pawns.”