December 26-2014
Ali Hekmati has started a hunger strike in Evin prison saying he is losing hope.
He has also dictated a letter to President Obama asking that he not be forgotten while the focus is on the nuclear negotiations.
He also told his sister that prison officials have told him his future is tied to progress in the nuclear talks, although Iranian officials have insisted that the nuclear talks are a distinct issue and not linked to any other disputes with the United States.
Hekmati was allowed to telephone his family in Michigan last Monday. He told them about the hunger strike he had just started and dictated the letter to Obama, his sister, Sarah Hekmati, told reporters.
“We are truly devastated by this news, but know that he is struggling and losing hope for a resolution to his case,” his sister said.
Hekmati, a former Marine, was born in Arizona and reared in Michigan.
In August 2011, he was arrested while visiting his grandmothers in Iran for the first time. He was sentenced to death for spying. On appeal, his conviction was annulled and a retrial held in 2012. He was then convicted of “cooperating with hostile governments” and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The letter to Obama says, “It is my hope that after reading this letter you, or anyone who may see this, will help end the nightmare I have been living.
“Every day, I wake hoping that there is news of my release. Every night, I go to sleep disappointed to mark another day that I am still behind these prison walls, away from my family, friends and meaningful human contact. Away from my father who is gravely ill. There is no end in sight.”
The White House confirmed that the letter had been received.
“I ask that you not forget me, Mr. President,” Hekmati writes. “I ask that you make it clear that my case is unrelated and should be resolved independent of your [nuclear] talks. I ask that your team impress upon the Iranian officials that more than three years without resolution is simply too long.
“I know that the climate between the United States and Iran is delicate. But I should not fall victim to it.”
After hearing the hunger strike, Marines who formerly served with Hekmati set up a rolling hunger strike to support him. Marines are asked to sign up to undertake individual 24-hour hunger strikes in solidarity with Hekmati. “Marines don’t leave anyone behind,” said Nick Kaywork, a Marine veteran joining in the hunger strike.
Sarah Hekmati told IranWire her brother was disturbed that nothing has happened on his case for many months and now the prison officials have told him his case is “tied” to the nuclear negotiations, suggesting nothing more will happen until the extension of the talks ends next summer.
She said he is in a cell with no heat, which is adding to his health problems.
Sarah said he was held in a communal area filled with political prisoners where prison guards raided cells last April, apparently looking for prisoners with cellphones and other forbidden gear.
She said, “Thankfully he wasn’t among the prisoners who were taken to solitary cells or to the hospital. But all prisoners were collectively punished, and Amir was moved to another ward with poor hygiene—a ward where power goes off frequently and there are blackouts. Right now, it’s winter, but there is no heat and no gas. It is very cold.”
She said the other prisoners in his cell are common criminals and drug dealers.
She also said Amir has not been given any furloughs from prison because none of his immediate family members live in Iran. More distant relatives can visit him, but she said the authorities make it difficult for them.
