Amir Mirazai Hekmati, an American citizen of Iranian background who is in prison in Iran accused of spying, has written to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to insist that he is innocent and to urge the minister to save his case from falling prey to the historic diplomatic differences between Iran and the U.S.
ISNA reports that in a letter to Zarif, Hekmati requests to be reunited with his family back in the United States after 30 months of separation.
Hekmati denies all charges against him and avers that he has never collaborated with the U.S. government against Iran.
Hekmati was initially sentenced to death but his sentence was then reduced to 10 years in jail.
He also writes that in the U.S. army, he has merely provided service as an Arabic translator and has never been trained in spying and intelligence matters.
Hekmati maintains that his trip to Iran in 2011 was to visit his grandmother. He was arrested in Iran in August of 2011 and charged with spying, a charge that has also been rejected by his family and the U.S. government.
Hekmati served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001 and 2005 and was deployed as a translator in Iraq.
