Iranian court sentences American to death

January 10, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times

TEHRAN, Iran

A court in Tehran has sentenced to death a former U.S. Marine of Iranian descent who was convicted of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency, Iranian media reported Monday.

The sentencing of Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, is likely to 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 semi-official 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 base 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 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.”