Marine veteran, once held in Iranian jail, fights espionage claims March 16 Amir Hekmati when he was in the U.S. Marine Corps in Baghdad, Iraq, in May 2010. (Amir Hekmati via AP) After Amir Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough, he was declared eligible for $20 million in compensation from a special U.S. government fund. But payday never arrived, leaving Hekmati to wonder why. The answer has finally arrived: Newly filed court documents reviewed by The Associated Press reveal FBI suspicions that he traveled to Iran to sell classified secrets not, as he says, to visit his grandmother. Hekmati vigorously disputes the allegations, has never faced criminal charges and is challenging a special master’s conclusion that he lied about his visit to Iran and is therefore not entitled to the money.
Once tortured in Iranian jail, ex-Marine fights spy claims
ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
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Now Playing: Five years after being freed from Evin Prison through the Iran nuclear deal, U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati is being accused of treason by the Department of Justice. Hekmati s lawyer disputes the allegations and gives background on the case. (March 16) Video: Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) After Amir Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough, he was declared eligible for $20 million from a special U.S. government fund as compensation for years of imprisonment that included brutal torture.
After Amir Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough, he was declared eligible for $20 million in compensation from a special U.S. government fund. But payday never arrived, leaving Hekmati to wonder why. The answer has finally arrived: Newly filed court documents reviewed by The Associated Press…