https://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Iran-sentences-alleged-American-spy-to-death-2452943.php
Iran sentences alleged American spy to death
By Ramin Mostaghim and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times
Published 4:00 am PST, Tuesday, January 10, 2012
(FILES)--A grab taken from a video aired by the official Iranian state TV on December 18, 2011 shows one of several photos of a young man alleged to be a captured CIA spy of Iranian origin confessing to a "mission" to infiltrate the intelligence ministry, wearing a traditional Arab garb. The television named the man as Amir Mirza Hekmati and said he was born in the US state of Arizona. The 28-year-old American ex-Marine, who also holds Iranian citizenship, has been sentenced to death by an Iran judge for spying for the CIA, the Fars news agency reported on Januray 9, 2012. AFP PHOTO/HO RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / IRANIAN TV " NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS EDS NOTE: AFP IS USING PICTURES FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES AS IT WAS NOT AUTHORISED TO COVER THIS EVENT, THEREFORE IT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED == (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images) less
(FILES)--A grab taken from a video aired by the official Iranian state TV on December 18, 2011 shows one of several photos of a young man alleged to be a captured CIA spy of Iranian origin confessing to a ... more
Photo: -, AFP/Getty Images
Tehran --
A court in Tehran has sentenced to death a former U.S. Marine of Iranian descent who was convicted of spying for the CIA, Iranian media reported Monday.
The sentencing of Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, probably will add to the tension between the United States and Iran, which has been escalating over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program.
Prosecutors accused Hekmati of "cooperation with an enemy government, membership in the CIA and attempts to accuse Iran of supporting terrorism," the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
A branch of Iran's Revolutionary Court found him to be a "corrupter on Earth" and "waging war on God," the news service reports said, expressions that routinely appear in Iranian court cases. He has 20 days to appeal the sentence.
Last month, Iranian state television broadcast video of a purported confession by Hekmati in which he said he had been sent by the CIA to infiltrate Iranian intelligence services.
Iran alleges that Hekmati served at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and received specialized training. The Intelligence Ministry said its agents identified Hekmati at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan and tracked him as he infiltrated Iran.
Fars reported that Hekmati repeated the alleged confession at a closed-door trial last month, telling the court that he was "fooled" by the CIA and did not want to "strike a blow" at Iran.
In Washington, U.S. officials on Monday demanded that Iran release Hekmati and denied that he worked for the CIA.
"Allegations that Mr. Hekmati either worked for, or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said at the White House. "The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons."
Victoria Nuland, State Department spokeswoman, told reporters at a briefing that the United States, which does not have diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, has been unable to independently confirm the death sentence. The United States was working through Swiss diplomats, who represent U.S. interests in Iran, to contact Hekmati, she said.
Hekmati's family has said any confessions would have been made under duress. Ali Hekmati reportedly said his son was a former U.S. military translator who was in Iran to visit his two grandmothers.
The younger Hekmati was born in Flagstaff, Ariz. A Marine Corps spokeswoman said Monday that Hekmati served as a Marine between 2001 and 2005, including a deployment to Iraq in 2004.