American-Iranian sentenced to death in Iran

The Iranian government arrested former U.S. Marine interpreter Amir Mirzaei Hekmati while visiting his Iranian grandmothers and has been sentenced to death as a CIA spy.

Hekmati, 28, was born in Arizona and went to high school in Flint and could be used as a pawn to control further U.S.-led sanctions imposed against Iran.

Iranian officials could use the 28-year-old as a bargaining chip in an attempt to keep tighter sanctions from being imposed which could undercut Iran's oil industry.

The ICHR are concerned regarding the death sentence, secrecy and lack of transparency surround the prosecution as Iranian prosecutor stress his links to the U.S. military.

Spokesman for the National Security Council in Washington Tommy Vietor said that Hekmati was a victim of false charges.

Vietor also said that the U.S. was working with allies to express disapproval of the charges toward the Iranian government.

The charges being brought against Hekmati that he had either worked for or was by the CIA are untrue according to Vietor who continued to say t hat the Iranian regime was using the capture of innocent Americans for political reasons.

The International Campaign for Human Rights said that the last known death sentence given to an American citizen in Iran was during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

Under Iranian law, Hekmati has 20 days to appeal and should the verdict be appealed, the case would be transferred to Iran’s Supreme Court.