FLINT, Mich. – The family of an ex-U.S. Marine sentenced to death for spying in Iran says members have received little information about his case months after a new trial was reportedly ordered.
Amir Hekmati was accused of working for the CIA and sentenced to death in January, the first American to receive a death penalty since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. His family and the U.S. government have denied the allegations.
The semiofficial ISNA news agency reported in March that Iran's Supreme Court ordered a retrial for Hekmati.
His family released a statement Friday saying it had received "little and confusing information" about his case since then. The statement also notes that Saturday is his 29th birthday and says family members still hope for his safe return.