Roughly 100 people came out to a benefit banquet held in Michigan last Wednesday to fund efforts to free Amir Hekmati, who has been imprisoned in Iran for two years.
“It’s so humbling, it means a lot to us,” said Hekmati’s sister, Sarah Hekmati.
Sarah said friends, family and supporters from the family’s hometown of Flint as well as from all over the state came out to the event. Some even traveled from out of state.
“We want his story to stay alive,” she said.
Her brother, a former Marine who was born in Arizona and recently turned 30, has been incarcerated since August 2011 on charges of being an American spy. He was sentenced to death, but an appellate court overturned his original death sentence a year and a half ago. However, in that time there has been no word on an expected re-trial.
US Rep. Dan Kildee, the Democrat who represents Flint, called the case one that “needs more attention.”
“This is a story of a young man who served his country as a US Marine and simply wanted to visit his family,” Kildee said.
Hekmati was in the midst of a two-week visit to Tehran to see his grandmothers in August 2011, when he was taken into custody. Iranian officials claimed Hekmati was a spy for the CIA. The Hekmati family and US officials deny that.
Democratic Sen. Carl Levin spoke at the fund-raiser, saying, “My heart and thoughts are with Amir and his family. He has been detained in Iran without reason. He was visiting his grandma.”
Levin said he’s hoping Hekmati is freed soon and wants to be sure people don’t forget about him. “Hopefully, he will find a new situation with a new government in Iran,” Levin said.
Levin said, “I believe very deeply in this cause. Every human being has a right to freedom and liberty…. There is a community in Michigan that cares about him.”
Family members say they have had encouraging signs in recent months that Hekmati may be freed soon. For example, his prison conditions have improved and he has been allowed to receive family visitors and communicate with family in Michigan by mail.
Sarah said the dinner, held in Grosse Point Farms near Detroit, had the goal of “refreshing people’s memories” about her brother’s detention. The case initially garnered a great deal of attention, but as time has passed with no new developments, the story has faded from the media.
The other purpose she said was to raise funds to further publicize the case and lobby officials for his release.
Each table at the banquet was adorned with “Free Amir” bumper stickers and the programs carried a photo of Hekmati in his Marine Corps uniform.