Lawyer of Amir Hekmati: Proposal for Exchange of Hekmati with a Prisoner from the U.S.

On Tuesday, January 9, Amir Hekmati's lawyer claimed that the U.S. government, through its interests office in Iran, requested the 'exchange' of this Iranian-American citizen imprisoned in Iran for another prisoner. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Hekmati's lawyer, stated in an interview with the Tasnim news agency, 'No response has yet been provided regarding this proposal to the U.S. interests office in Iran.' According to Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai, this request has been submitted to the Iranian judiciary. In response to the question of who the U.S. proposed to exchange Hekmati for, he said, 'For now, it is not appropriate to disclose the name of the counterpart, and if the judiciary deems it appropriate, this matter will be announced.' Amir Hekmati was arrested in August 2011 while traveling to Iran to visit his grandmother, and was sentenced to death on charges of espionage for the U.S. The U.S. has denied the espionage allegations. After his death sentence, he was ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of collaborating with hostile governments. According to Hekmati's family, he began a hunger strike on December 25 of this year and ended it on Tuesday, January 2, after promises from Evin prison officials to review his case. During his hunger strike, Hekmati wrote a letter to Barack Obama, the President of the United States, asking him not to forget him as negotiations on Iran's nuclear program progressed. Previously, Hekmati's family, along with other high-ranking officials, including several members of Congress, the President, and the Secretary of State of the U.S., stated that he was innocent and called for the release of this 31-year-old man. Currently, three Iranian-American citizens are imprisoned in Iran. John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, called for the release of Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Jason Rezaian on Friday, September 7. Saeed Abedini, a 34-year-old American citizen of Iranian descent, was sentenced to eight years in prison for 'establishing home churches' and 'acting against national security' during a trip to Iran. Jason Rezaian, a journalist for the Washington Post in Iran, has also been detained since July 31. In this context, the family of Amir Hekmati and an American lawmaker called for his release, expressing 'deep concern' over the review process of Jason Rezaian's case.