Amir Hekmati Has Filed a Complaint Against Iran

The publication "Politico" quotes a statement from Amir Hekmati's lawyer, a former U.S. Marine who was imprisoned in Iran, stating that they have filed a complaint against Iranian officials for his "torture" while in custody. Hekmati spent over four years in prison in Iran on charges of "espionage." He was arrested while traveling to Iran, according to his family, to visit his grandmother. The United States had denied the espionage allegations at that time. Hekmati was released during a prisoner exchange between Iran and the U.S. and returned to America. Politico reports that the complaint filed in a Washington court seeks compensatory, economic, and punitive damages. However, Iran and the United States do not have diplomatic relations, making it highly unlikely that Tehran would accept a court ruling in the U.S. Hekmati's complaint cites Iran's "abhorrent behavior" as contrary to the "Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act" of the U.S., thus allowing for a lawsuit against the Islamic Republic. Scott Gilbert, Hekmati's lawyer, states that he was "beaten, deprived of sleep, forcibly medicated, and subjected to psychological abuse." Earlier, while Hekmati was in prison, reports emerged of his transfer to a hospital for treatment. The New York Times reported last winter that he was "transferred from Evin Prison to a hospital in Tehran for examination and treatment of lumps on his face and neck." Hekmati had also gone on a hunger strike in prison to protest the lack of review of his case. Amir Hekmati served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005 as an infantryman and translator. After his release, he left Iran last winter with Jason Rezaian, a journalist, and Saeed Abedini, a pastor, both of whom were also Iranian-American citizens imprisoned in Iran, returning to the U.S. via Switzerland.