Amir Mirza Hekmati Explained

Amir Hekmati
Birth Place:Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.
Birth Name:Amir Mirza Hekmati
Allegiance:United States[1] [2]
Branch:United States Marine Corps
Serviceyears:2001–2005
Rank:Sergeant
Unit:2nd Battalion, 4th Marines
Battles:Iraq War
Relations:Behnaz Hekmati (mother)[3]
Ali Hekmati (father)[4] [5]
Sarah Hekmati (sister)
Laterwork:BAE Systems
Kuma Reality Games
Lucid Linguistics, LLC
Signature:Signature of Amir Hekmati.png
Alma Mater:B.S. Economics University of Michigan

Amir Mirza Hekmati (Persian: امیر میرزا حکمتی); is a United States Marine veteran who was arrested in August 2011 for allegedly spying for the CIA in Iran. On January 9, 2012, he was sentenced to death for the charges.[6] [7] [8] On March 5, 2012, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a retrial, saying the verdict against Hekmati was "not complete".[9] [10] On January 16, 2016, Hekmati was released and allowed to leave Iran as part of a prisoner trade between the U.S. and Iran.[11] He returned to the United States on January 21, 2016. He sued the Government of Iran on May 11, 2016. He received a default judgment of $63 million on October 3, 2017. In November 2019 he sued the government for unpaid compensation. According to the assistant attorney general they are reconsidering if he is eligible.

Early life and education

Hekmati was born in Flagstaff, Arizona; he has a twin sister, Leila.[12] [13] Hekmati's parents, Ali and Behnaz Hekmati, left Iran in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution and settled in Arizona, where Ali Hekmati finished a Ph.D. in microbiology.[13]

The family moved to Wayne Nebraska and spent several years there before moving to Michigan, where Hekmati's father accepted a position as professor of microbiology at Mott Community College in Flint.[13] [4] [5] The family lived in Flint and later Flint Township.[13]

In August 2001, Hekmati enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.[13] [14] Amir completed his undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Michigan.[15]

Career

Hekmati served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 20 August 2001 to 19 August 2005, when he was discharged as a Sergeant.[5] [1] [2] Hekmati completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, followed by the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California, where he trained as a rifleman.[13] Amir also graduated from the Defense Language Institute having completed the Arabic Language course. He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon while deployed as a rifleman, and translator in Iraq, but he received no military intelligence training.[16]

After his discharge, Hekmati founded Lucid Linguistics LLC in February 2006 and worked as a military contractor translating Arabic and Persian.[14] [17] Amir also developed a language, and cultural training app for the Department of Defense, that was later acquired by Vcom3d, and dubbed the Vcommunicator Mobile.[18] Between 2005 and 2007 he is alleged to have worked on a report on two-way translation systems published by Mitre Corporation for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).[19] He is cited in the "Acknowledgements" section of Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs, a paper published by Mitre Corporation.[20] [21] He was later employed by Kuma Reality Games to work on a language-learning video game for the United States Department of Defense.[22]

Between March and September 2010 Hekmati worked in Kansas for BAE Systems, a multinational defense contractor.[23] [24] Hekmati worked in Iraq between September 2010 and May 2011 as a culture and language expert.[14] [25] According to his parents, Ali and Behnaz Hekmati of Flint, Michigan, Hekmati travelled to Iran after obtaining permission from the Iranian Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.[26] [27]

Espionage arrest and trial

In August 2011, Hekmati was arrested while visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Iran.[26] According to his Iranian captors, Hekmati allegedly entered Iran from Bagram Airfield via Dubai.[28] On 18 December 2011, a confession by Hekmati appeared on Iranian state television and stated that he had infiltrated Iran in order to establish a CIA presence in the country.[29] Hekmati's family said that the confession was coerced,[26] and that he was not a spy.[2] The family is represented by a U.S. Attorney former Ambassador at Large Pierre-Richard Prosper.[30] [31]

Iran alleges that Hekmati's mission was to implicate the country in state-sponsored terrorist activities.[6] On 24 December 2011, Switzerland, which manages diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States, applied for consular access to Hekmati. It was denied.[32] In his confession, Hekmati stated that his mission pertained to maintaining a presence, rather than undermining the integrity of the country.[33] According to excerpts from his alleged confession published in the Tehran Times, Hekmati said that Kuma Reality Games was paid by the CIA to design movies and video games to give the customers a distasteful impression of the Middle East.[34]

Iranian officials claim that Hekmati underwent intelligence training after joining the U.S. military in 2001.[7] They say he worked for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency between 2005 and 2007. Shortly before his mission to Iran, they claim he prepared at Bagram Airfield. An Iranian official attributed his recognition and capture to "Iranian networks monitoring activities in the Bagram base".

On 9 January 2012, Islamic Revolutionary Court declared Hekmati to be "Corrupt on Earth" (Mofsed-e-filarz) and an "enemy of God" (Mohareb). It sentenced him to death for cooperating with the United States.[6]

Death sentence annulled

On 5 March 2012, Iran's Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a retrial. The judges said the verdict against Hekmati was "not complete" and ordered a retrial.[9] [35] Hekmati awaited a retrial[10] until April 2014, when his sister announced that a secret court had again convicted him of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government" and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.[36]

Calls for release

President Barack Obama repeatedly called upon Iran to release Hekmati as well as other U.S. citizens that were held prisoner, such as The Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini.[37] [38]

On May 11, 2015, the United States Senate unanimously passed, 90–0, a resolution calling upon the Iranian government to immediately release Hekmati, Abedini, and Rezaian, and to cooperate with the U.S. government to locate and return Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent reported missing in Iran. The resolution also called upon the U.S. government to undertake every effort using every diplomatic tool at its disposal to secure their release.[39]

Release

On January 16, 2016, Hekmati was released from Iran along with three other U.S. nationals held prisoner in Iran - Jason Rezaian, Saeed Abedini, and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari - as part of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran. A fifth man, a recently detained student named Matthew Trevithick, was separately released.[40]

After being freed, Hekmati departed Iran and traveled to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. military hospital in Germany, where he underwent a medical evaluation. Hekmati returned to his family in Flint on January 21, 2016.[41]

Lawsuit

On May 11, 2016, Hekmati sued the Government of Iran for his ordeal, with charges of economic damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, claiming he was tortured, which included electric shock and forced drug withdrawal.[42]

On October 3, 2017, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Ellen S. Huvelle granted Hekmati a default judgment of $63 million.[43]

Awards and decorations

1st RowCombat Action RibbonGood Conduct MedalNational Defense Service Medal
2nd RowGlobal War on Terrorism Expeditionary MedalGlobal War on Terrorism Service MedalSea Service Deployment Ribbon

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iran holds former Marine for almost 2 years: Dad sick with cancer, family seeks release . 17 May 2013 . Harkins . Gina . Military Times . Gannett Company, Inc. . 19 June 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130619191744/http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20130517/NEWS/305170017/Iran-holds-former-Marine-almost-2-years . 19 June 2013 .
  2. Web site: U.S. Marine Corps releases Amir Hekmati's service record . Harris . David . 9 January 2012 . The Flint Journal . MLive . 11 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131113092123/http://blog.mlive.com/newsnow_impact/print.html?entry=%2F2012%2F01%2Fus_marine_corps_releases_amir.html . 13 November 2013 .
  3. Web site: Mom Visits Amir Hekmati, Former US Marine Sentenced to Death in Iran: Convicted of Espionage, 28-Year-Old Appeared Thin and Shocked on Death Row, Mom Says . Ferran . Lee . 22 February 2012 . ABC News . ABC News Internet Ventures . 20 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140420130148/https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/mom-visits-amir-hekmati-american-sentenced-death-iran/print?id=15765050 . 20 April 2014 .
  4. News: Vigil for Amir Hekmati tonight at Mott . 25 September 2012 . 25 September 2012 . Dominic . Adams . The Flint Journal.
  5. News: Flint family has message for Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Let our son out of prison . . 25 September 2012 . 25 September 2012 . Elisha . Anderson.
  6. Web site: Iran sentences US man to death for spying. 2012-01-09. NBC News. dmy-all. 9 January 2012.
  7. News: Iran TV shows 'CIA spy' speaking of alleged mission. . 18 December 2011 . 2012-01-09 . "It was their plan to first burn some useful information, give it to them (the Iranians) and let the intelligence ministry think that this is good material and contact me afterwards," the clean-shaven man in his 20s said. . Marc Burleigh . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108005919/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j3o-yDInah1IC8pg7RVH6L-mrMXA?docId=CNG.fad80dffc69b5105a37f43fbbaedadfd.211 . 8 January 2012 . dmy.
  8. News: Iran sentences US man to death for spying. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2012-01-09. 2012-01-09. But Hekmati's family in the United States told US media he had traveled to Iran to visit his Iranian grandmothers and he was not a spy.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120110013120/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-09/iran-sentences-us-man-to-death-for-spying/3764520. 10 January 2012. dmy.
  9. Web site: Iran pulls death penalty for Amir Mirzai Hekmati, former U.S. Marine convicted of spying for CIA | News | National Post . News.nationalpost.com . 27 December 2011. 2012-03-06.
  10. Web site: Al Hajal. Khalil. Family of Amir Hekmati issues statement marking Iran detainee's birthday as supporters in Flint plan benefit concert. 28 July 2012 . M Live. 1 August 2012.
  11. Web site: Reporter Jason Rezaian among 5 Americans freed by Iran . Michael Pearson . Elise Labott. 16 January 2016 . CNN. 5 March 2018.
  12. Iran Sentences American to Death Amid Tensions Over Hormuz . https://archive.today/20120722061930/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-10/iran-sentences-american-to-death-amid-tensions-over-hormuz.html . dead . 22 July 2012 . Businessweek . 2009-12-08 . 14 December 2012.
  13. Blake Thorne, The man who disappeared: Life before prison for captured Marine and Flint man Amir Hekmati, MLive (May 18, 2014).
  14. News: An American is caught in Iran's spy game . The Washington Post. Walter . Pincus . 23 January 2012 . 26 September 2012.
  15. Carmody Steve, "Amir Hekmati: One Year Later", Michigan Public Radio, January 16, 2017
  16. News: American Held By Iran as CIA 'Spy' Had No Military Intel Training . Lee . Ferran . . 20 December 2011 . 26 September 2012.
  17. News: Convicted spy's war-games work cited . . 11 January 2012.
  18. Web site: Limited Liability Company Details. www.dleg.state.mi.us. 2017-02-09.
  19. Iran Shows the Man It Alleges Is a U.S. Spy on State Television . . Adam . Martin . 19 December 2011.
  20. News: 8 . Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs . . Mitre Corporation . 26 September 2012. Mitre Corporation .
  21. News: Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs . Dan . Parvaz . Mitre Corporation.
  22. News: The United States Government Kindly Asks Iran To Free Imprisoned American Game Developer Already . Stephen . Totilo . . 29 August 2012.
  23. News: U.S. condemns reported Iran death sentence for former U.S. Marine. 9 January 2012 . Laura . Rozen . Yahoo News.
  24. News: Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, Former U.S. Marine, Sentenced To Death In Iran . . 9 January 2012 . Nasser . Karimi . Brian Murphy.
  25. News: Amir Mirzaei Hekmati . . 5 March 2012 . 26 September 2012.
  26. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/world/meast/us-amir-hekmati-lawyer/index.html Death row American's lawyer calls for compassion from Iran
  27. News: Father fears he may never see his son imprisoned in Iran . Paula . Newton . . 25 September 2012.
  28. News: Iran TV shows 'CIA spy' speaking of alleged mission . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108005919/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j3o-yDInah1IC8pg7RVH6L-mrMXA?docId=CNG.fad80dffc69b5105a37f43fbbaedadfd.211 . dead . 8 January 2012 . Marc . Burgleigh . 18 December 2011.
  29. News: Iran state TV airs "confession" of detained CIA spy . Tito . Greg . 18 December 2011 . 2012-01-09 . Reuters . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120109041616/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/18/us-iran-usa-spy-idUSTRE7BH0RX20111218 . 9 January 2012 . dmy .
  30. News: Dover. Sara. Mitt Romney Advisor Pierre Prosper hired in Iran spy case.. International Business Times. 1 August 2012.
  31. Web site: Labott. Elise. EXCLUSIVE: Lawyer takes on Iran spy case. CNN. 1 August 2012.
  32. News: U.S. citizen goes on trial in Iran on spying charges . 27 December 2011 . Reuters . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20111230013146/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/us-iran-us-spy-idUSTRE7BQ19920111227 . 30 December 2011 . dmy .
  33. Web site: Iran holds first trial session of "CIA agent" . Mingxin . Bi . 28 December 2011 . 2012-01-09 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111229182203/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/28/c_131332137.htm . 29 December 2011 . dmy .
  34. Web site: Jailed Spy: CIA Paid Developer to Make Anti-Middle East Games . Tito . Greg . 2012-01-09 . . 9 January 2012 . 14 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234752/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114877-Jailed-Spy-CIA-Paid-Developer-to-Make-Anti-Middle-East-Games . dead . mirror
  35. Web site: Ferran. Lee. 15. Report: American Ex-Marine 'spy' in Iran to get retrial. ABC News. 1 August 2012.
  36. News: Family: Ex-US Marine convicted in Iran, sentenced to 10 years prison. Sciutto. Jim. Chelsea J. Carter. 11 April 2014. Cable News Network. 12 April 2014.
  37. David Jackson, Obama calls on Iran to release U.S. citizens, USA Today (March 20, 2015).
  38. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/21/obama-iran-three-americans-rezaian-levinson Obama calls on Iran to release 'unjustly detained' Americans
  39. http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2015/may/11/senate-calls-iran-release-us-citizens Senate Calls on Iran to Release U.S. Citizens
  40. Web site: 5 Americans released by Iran, 4 as part of prisoner swap. Michael Pearson. CNN. 16 January 2016 . January 16, 2016.
  41. http://www.abc12.com/home/headlines/Amir-Hekmati-expected-to-arrive-in-Flint-Thursday-366074191.html Amir Hekmati arrives at Flint's Bishop Airport
  42. http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/politics/amir-hekmati-sues-iran-alleged-torture/ Former Marine Amir Hekmati sues Iran for alleged torture
  43. http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2017/10/judge_orders_iran_to_pay_amir.html Judge orders Iran to pay Amir Hekmati $63 million for imprisonment, torture