Amir Mirza Hekmati

Hekmati was born in Flagstaff, Arizona; he has a twin sister, Leila.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-10/iran-sentences-american-to-death-amid-tensions-over-hormuz.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722061930/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-10/iran-sentences-american-to-death-amid-tensions-over-hormuz.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2012 |title=Iran Sentences American to Death Amid Tensions Over Hormuz |magazine=Businessweek |date=2009-12-08 |access-date=14 December 2012}}Blake Thorne, [http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/05/the_man_who_disappeared_life_b.html The man who disappeared: Life before prison for captured Marine and Flint man Amir Hekmati], MLive (May 18, 2014). 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.

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. The family lived in Flint and later Flint Township.

In August 2001, Hekmati enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/an-american-is-caught-in-irans-spy-game/2012/01/23/gIQAw8Z3LQ_story.html |title=An American is caught in Iran's spy game |newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Walter |last=Pincus |date=23 January 2012 |access-date=26 September 2012}} Amir completed his undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Michigan.Carmody Steve,[http://michiganradio.org/post/amir-hekmati-one-year-later "Amir Hekmati: One Year Later"], Michigan Public Radio, January 16, 2017

Hekmati served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 20 August 2001 to 19 August 2005, when he was discharged as a Sergeant. 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. 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.{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/american-amir-hekmati-alleged-cia-spy-held-iran/story?id=15197330#.UGKpQI1lSSo |title=American Held By Iran as CIA 'Spy' Had No Military Intel Training |first=Lee |last=Ferran |work=ABC News |date=20 December 2011 |access-date=26 September 2012}}

After his discharge, Hekmati founded Lucid Linguistics LLC in February 2006 and worked as a military contractor translating Arabic and Persian.{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/01/11/Convicted-spys-war-games-work-cited/UPI-10911326300530/

|title=Convicted spy's war-games work cited |publisher=United Press International |date=11 January 2012}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt_llc.asp?id_nbr=B8095J&name_entity=LUCID%20LINGUISTICS%20L.L.C.|title=Limited Liability Company Details|website=www.dleg.state.mi.us|access-date=2017-02-09}} 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).{{cite magazine |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/12/iran-shows-man-it-alleges-us-spy-state-television/46366/ |title=Iran Shows the Man It Alleges Is a U.S. Spy on State Television |magazine=The Atlantic |first=Adam |last=Martin |date=19 December 2011}} He is cited in the "Acknowledgements" section of Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs, a paper published by Mitre Corporation.{{cite news |page=8 |url=http://www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2008/pdf/535_paper.pdf |title=Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs |publisher=International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation |author=Mitre Corporation |access-date=26 September 2012|author-link=Mitre Corporation }}{{cite news |url=https://mitre.academia.edu/DanParvaz/Papers/748799/Applying_Automated_Metrics_to_Speech_Translation_Dialogs |title=Applying Automated Metrics to Speech Translation Dialogs |first=Dan |last=Parvaz |publisher=Mitre Corporation}} He was later employed by Kuma Reality Games to work on a language-learning video game for the United States Department of Defense.{{cite news |url=http://kotaku.com/kuma-games/ |title=The United States Government Kindly Asks Iran To Free Imprisoned American Game Developer Already |first=Stephen |last=Totilo |publisher=Kotaku |date=29 August 2012}}

Between March and September 2010 Hekmati worked in Kansas for BAE Systems, a multinational defense contractor.{{Cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/iran-sentences-former-u-marine-death-151159772.html |title=U.S. condemns reported Iran death sentence for former U.S. Marine

|date=9 January 2012 |first=Laura |last=Rozen |publisher=Yahoo News}}{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/amir-mirzaei-hekmati-iran_n_1193425.html |title=Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, Former U.S. Marine, Sentenced To Death In Iran |work=Huffington Post |date=9 January 2012 |first=Nasser |last=Karimi |author2=Brian Murphy}} Hekmati worked in Iraq between September 2010 and May 2011 as a culture and language expert.{{cite news |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/amir_mirzaei_hekmati/index.html |title=Amir Mirzaei Hekmati |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=26 September 2012}} 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.[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] By Bryony Jones, CNN | 10 January 2012{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/25/us/iran-marine-imprisoned/index.html |title=Father fears he may never see his son imprisoned in Iran |first=Paula |last=Newton |publisher=CNN |date=25 September 2012}}

In August 2011, Hekmati was arrested while visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Iran. According to his Iranian captors, Hekmati allegedly entered Iran from Bagram Airfield via Dubai.{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j3o-yDInah1IC8pg7RVH6L-mrMXA?docId=CNG.fad80dffc69b5105a37f43fbbaedadfd.211 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108005919/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j3o-yDInah1IC8pg7RVH6L-mrMXA?docId=CNG.fad80dffc69b5105a37f43fbbaedadfd.211 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 January 2012 |title=Iran TV shows 'CIA spy' speaking of alleged mission |first=Marc |last=Burgleigh |date=18 December 2011}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-spy-idUSTRE7BH0RX20111218 |last=Tito |first=Greg |title=Iran state TV airs "confession" of detained CIA spy |date=18 December 2011 |access-date=2012-01-09 |work=Reuters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109041616/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/18/us-iran-usa-spy-idUSTRE7BH0RX20111218 |archive-date=9 January 2012 |df=dmy }} Hekmati's family said that the confession was coerced, and that he was not a spy. The family is represented by a U.S. Attorney former Ambassador at Large Pierre-Richard Prosper.{{cite news|last=Dover|first=Sara|title=Mitt Romney Advisor Pierre Prosper hired in Iran spy case.|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/279517/20120110/amir-mirzaei-hekmati-mitt-romney-advisor-pierre.htm|newspaper=International Business Times|access-date=1 August 2012}}{{cite web|last=Labott|first=Elise|title=EXCLUSIVE: Lawyer takes on Iran spy case|url=http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/10/7473/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114021732/http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/10/7473/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2012|publisher=CNN|access-date=1 August 2012}}

Iran alleges that Hekmati's mission was to implicate the country in state-sponsored terrorist activities. On 24 December 2011, Switzerland, which manages diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States, applied for consular access to Hekmati. It was denied.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-us-spy-idUSTRE7BQ19920111227 |title=U.S. citizen goes on trial in Iran on spying charges |date=27 December 2011 |work=Reuters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230013146/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/us-iran-us-spy-idUSTRE7BQ19920111227 |archive-date=30 December 2011 |df=dmy }} In his confession, Hekmati stated that his mission pertained to maintaining a presence, rather than undermining the integrity of the country.{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/28/c_131332137.htm |last=Mingxin |first=Bi |title=Iran holds first trial session of "CIA agent" |date=28 December 2011 |access-date=2012-01-09 |publisher=Xinhua News Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229182203/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/28/c_131332137.htm |archive-date=29 December 2011 |df=dmy }} 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.{{cite web | url = http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114877-Jailed-Spy-CIA-Paid-Developer-to-Make-Anti-Middle-East-Games | last = Tito | first = Greg | title = Jailed Spy: CIA Paid Developer to Make Anti-Middle East Games | date = 2012-01-09 | publisher = Escapist Magazine | access-date = 9 January 2012 | archive-date = 14 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120314234752/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114877-Jailed-Spy-CIA-Paid-Developer-to-Make-Anti-Middle-East-Games | url-status = dead }} [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114877-Jailed-Spy-CIA-Paid-Developer-to-Make-Anti-Middle-East-Games mirror]

Iranian officials claim that Hekmati underwent intelligence training after joining the U.S. military in 2001. 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.

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.{{cite web|last=Ferran|first=Lee|title=15. Report: American Ex-Marine 'spy' in Iran to get retrial|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/amir-hekmati-american-marine-spy-retrial-report/story?id=15849038#.UA7zoGFfHIs|work=ABC News|access-date=1 August 2012}} Hekmati awaited a retrial 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.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/11/world/meast/iran-american-prisoner/index.html|title=Family: Ex-US Marine convicted in Iran, sentenced to 10 years prison|last=Sciutto|first=Jim|author2=Chelsea J. Carter|date=11 April 2014|publisher=Cable News Network|access-date=12 April 2014}}

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.David Jackson, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/20/obama-iran-prisoners-saeed-abedini-amir-hekmati-jason-rezaian-robert-levinson/25079147/ Obama calls on Iran to release U.S. citizens], USA Today (March 20, 2015).[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/21/obama-iran-three-americans-rezaian-levinson Obama calls on Iran to release 'unjustly detained' Americans], The Guardian (July 21, 2015). See also [http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4545339/president-obama-calls-release-amir-hekmati-americans-held-iran President Obama Calls for the Release of Amir Hekmati and Other Americans Held in Iran], C-SPAN (video of July 21, 2015 speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention).

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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150516055542/http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2015/may/11/senate-calls-iran-release-us-citizens Senate Calls on Iran to Release U.S. Citizens], United States Institute of Peace (May 11, 2015).

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/16/middleeast/iran-jason-rezaian-prisoners-freed/index.html|title=5 Americans released by Iran, 4 as part of prisoner swap|author=Michael Pearson|website=CNN|date=16 January 2016 |access-date=January 16, 2016}}

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.[http://www.abc12.com/home/headlines/Amir-Hekmati-expected-to-arrive-in-Flint-Thursday-366074191.html Amir Hekmati arrives at Flint's Bishop Airport] WJRT-TV, January 21, 2016

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.[http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/politics/amir-hekmati-sues-iran-alleged-torture/ Former Marine Amir Hekmati sues Iran for alleged torture] CNN, May 11, 2016

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.[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] The Flint Journal via MLive.com, October 3, 2017

• List of foreign nationals detained in Iran

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{{Commons category|Amir Mirza Hekmati|Amir Hekmati}}

• {{Official website|http://www.freeamir.org/|Free Amir}}

{{Iran–United States relations}}

{{List of foreign nationals detained in Iran}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hekmati, Amir Mirza}}

Category:Living people

Category:1983 births

Category:People from Flagstaff, Arizona

Category:United States Marines

Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War

Category:American people convicted of spying for the United States by the Islamic Republic of Iran

Category:American prisoners sentenced to death

Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by Iran

Category:Flint Central High School alumni

Category:American twins

Category:University of Michigan alumni

Category:American people of Iranian descent