January 9, 2012

The family of an American man sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly being a CIA spy says he was visiting relatives and was not spying for the CIA.

Behnaz Hekmati, mother of Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, said in an email
to The Associated Press that she and her husband Ali are "shocked
and terrified" that their son has been sentenced to death. She
said the verdict is "the result of a process that was neither
transparent nor fair."

Iran charged that Hekmati received special training and served
in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran for an intelligence
mission.

The 28-year-old former military translator was born in Arizona
and graduated from high school in Michigan. His family is of
Iranian origin.