The family of former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati has a message for Iran's new president: Their American son is not a spy, has never been one, and he should be released immediately from prison in Iran. "I just ask -- I just want the president to consider us as an Iranian family, and that my husband is sick, and me as a mother I've suffered a lot, more than two years," said Behnaz Hekmati, Amir's mother, speaking in halting English. The family made a plea in an exclusive interview to CNN on the eve of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's first visit to the United States, where he will attend the U.N. General Assembly.
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Former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati has been imprisoned in Iran for more than two years
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He was visiting family in Iran when he was arrested in August 2011
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He wrote a letter to John Kerry saying his confession of being a CIA spy was forced
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His family is appealing to Iran's new president, who's attending U.N. General Assembly
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United States
"Naturally, we have some speculations that someone got jealous of him and didn't like the idea that he lives in @placeholder, and they are living over there in Iran," his father said.
Amir Hekmati
Amir
Amir Hekmati
The Hekmati family has tried to bring public attention to @placeholder's plight, hoping to secure his release.
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United States
• In 2009, three @placeholder hikers, also accused of spying, were arrested and ultimately released.