TEHRAN, iran — A former U.S. Marine sentenced to death in his native Iran for spying for the CIA could be saved if the Obama administration would consider a prisoner swap, his Iranian attorney said Wednesday.
Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, who was sentenced in January to be hanged, could face execution immediately after an appeals court has reviewed his sentence. The court’s decision was expected Jan. 25. The reason for the delay is unclear, lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghassi said.
Aghassi stressed it was essential for the Obama administration to do anything in its means to reach out to Iranian authorities — including offering a possible prisoner exchange — to save Hekmati.
Iran has repeatedly asked for the release of Shahrzad Mir Golikhani, an Iranian-American sentenced for involvement in an attempt to export night-vision equipment to Iran and who is imprisoned in Florida. Iran has a list of 11 prisoners in U.S. captivity it says are illegally detained.
U.S. authorities, who have denied that Hekmati is a spy, have asked the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to have someone visit him because the United States has no diplomatic ties to Iran.
Precisely when and where Hekmati was arrested is unclear. Iranian news reports have said he was detained in late August or early September upon arrival in the country. Hekmati’s family members, who live in Michigan, have reportedly said he was in Iran to visit his grandmothers.
