
A former US Marine born in Flagstaff, Arizona has 20 days to appeal the verdict of being sentenced to death or the decision will be final. The Iranian-American citizen, Amir Mizra Hekmati, was arrested for and convicted of espionage on a trip to visit family in Iran last August. His family has hired a lawyer with quite a bit of experience in negotiating with the government of Iran, and he is currently attempting to meet with Iranian officials.
Why was he charged with espionage? Hemkati developed a video game critical of Iran. He is accused of developing games to influence public opinion on US operations in the Middle East, and specifically Iran. Hekmati was a developer for Kuma Games, which has released a number of free, war-themed first-person shooters including Kuma/War, which features both real-world and plausibly fictional scenarios.
In one of the missions in the game, called “Assault on Iran,” the player infiltrates an Iranian nuclear facility in order to find proof that Iran is producing nuclear weapons. Other episodes include “The Fall of Sirte,” where players engage in the battle that culminated Gaddafi’s death, as well as “The Death of Osama Bin Laden.”
“After (working for DARPA), I went to Kuma (Games Company),” the confession read in part. “This computer company was receiving money from the CIA to (produce) and design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. The goal of the company in question was to convince the people of Iran and the people of the entire world that whatever the U.S. does in other countries is a good measure.”
“The Iranian authorities are denying that Amir is a United States citizen, despite the fact he was born in Flagstaff, Arizona,” Hekmati’s parents said in a statement released yesterday. “Amir did not engage in any acts of spying, or ‘fighting against God,’ as the convicting judge has claimed in his sentence. Amir is not a criminal. His very life is being exploited for political gain.”
Hekmati’s lawyer is Pierre Prosper, who previously served as ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under the Bush administration. Hekmati’s trial took place a few months after the initial arrest, lasted half a day, and a verdict of death was handed down just a few weeks later. ”We also are troubled by the fact there’s been no transparency,” he told CNN, “so it is really hard to see what happened.”
The US State Department has denied that Hekmati was a CIA spy and has urged the Iranian government to release him “without delay.”
Source: Ars Technica



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