World Briefing: Iran: Muslims Seek American’s Release

Amir Hekmati, an American of Iranian descent incarcerated in Tehran for nearly three years, spent his 31st birthday in prison on Monday, despite new pleas to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his compassionate release sent from prominent Muslim American figures in his home state, Michigan. Letters from the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and from the Imams’ Council of the Michigan Muslim Community Council, released by Mr. Hekmati’s family, beseeched the ayatollah to grant Mr. Hekmati a pardon, invoking the tradition of mercy associated with the end of the Ramadan holiday. It is unclear whether Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has seen the letters. Mr. Hekmati, a former Marine from Flint, was arrested in 2011 while visiting relatives in Iran for the first time. He was tried and sentenced to death for espionage, but the verdict was overturned and he was later convicted of cooperation with a hostile government — the United States — and given a 10-year sentence. Iranian prosecutors have never explained the substance of their case, and Mr. Hekmati and his family have said he is innocent of any wrongdoing.