dagblog - Comments for "Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges"

Yeah. I watched 60 minutes

Richard Day — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:07:52 +0000

In reply to For you, Richard: Uri

Yeah. I watched 60 minutes and this link also gives me hope!

For you, Richard: Uri

artappraiser — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:21:58 +0000

In reply to We (as a nation) have been

For you, Richard: Uri Friedman's Iran meter, 3/9: Natanz to worry about:

From:

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/09/iran_watch_bibis_iran_sto...

All this just scares the hell

artappraiser — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:13:38 +0000

In reply to We (as a nation) have been

All this just scares the hell out of me!

You really shouldn't let it do that, mho (unless you're planning on traveling in Iran at the current time.) If you're going to worry about something in that region, worry about the Syria situation upsetting the status quo further.

This guy probably wasn't totally innocent of agitatin' somehow against the Iranian govt., but at the same time probably not CIA. He took a risk, he very far from a naif about the situation there, and the more reactionary branches of the Iranian govt decided to use him for some propaganda and scare effect on their own people (i.e., the Iranian-Americans are inflitrating and trying to overthrow our wonderful righteous theocracy.) Seems like it is always part a kabuki theatre game with all Americans arrested there. I feel much sorrier for the Iranian political prisoners rotting in Ervin prison.

The whole Iranian nuke thing is also about 90% kabuki by all parties concerned except the right wingers in Israel. The Obama admin. is trying to keep it that way.

We (as a nation) have been

Richard Day — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:46:51 +0000

In reply to Iran Supreme Court dismisses

We (as a nation) have been angry at Iran since 1979!

Iran has been angry at us since we helped install that prick as shah!

All this just scares the hell out of me!

Is Iran right? no

Is America right? no

Should innocent people be killed.

America kills innocent people every day and so does Iran.

I have no answers to this mess at all.

I assume that some Irani 'news journalist' in this country could be arrested without charges and sent to some Gulag could happen tomorrow; unless it has already been accomplished yesterday!

I have no answer to this.

Hillary help us!

Iran Supreme Court dismisses

artappraiser — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:23:08 +0000

In reply to Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges

Iran Supreme Court dismisses execution sentence on U.S.-Iranian
TEHRAN | Mon Mar 5, 2012 2:42pm EST

(Reuters) - Iran's supreme court on Monday dismissed an execution sentence passed by a revolutionary court against an Iranian-American national accused of spying for the CIA, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"The supreme court nullified the execution sentence against Amir Mirza Hekmati and sent it to an affiliate court," said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei without giving further details.

Hekmati, a 28-year-old of Iranian descent born in the state of Arizona, was arrested in December and Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused him of receiving training at U.S. bases in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq.

The United States urged Iran to grant Hekmati access to legal counsel and to release him without delay.

"If it is true that there will now be a retrial, this is a welcome development and we hope that he will be reunited with his family soon," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington [....]

American Sentenced to Death

artappraiser — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:26:28 +0000

In reply to Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges

American Sentenced to Death in Iran Visited by His Mother
By J. David Goodman, New York Times, February 21, 2012

The mother of an American man sentenced to death in Iran for espionage visited her gaunt and frightened son on death row in a Tehran prison this month, as his lawyers in Iran began an appeal of his conviction, an American lawyer representing the family said on Tuesday.

Benhaz Hekmati traveled alone to Tehran on Jan. 28 to visit her son, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a former Marine who, according to rights activists, is the first American citizen sentenced to death in Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Mrs. Hekmati stayed with close relatives, and visited her son at Evin Prison three times [....]

An American is caught in

artappraiser — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:48:09 +0000

In reply to Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges

An American is caught in Iran’s spy game
By Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Jan. 23, 2012

[....] As in any good spy story, there are questions: Was Hekmati coerced into making a false confession? Was he telling the truth? Or was he another innocent pawn in the covert intelligence war between Tehran and Washington? [....]

Pincus sums up a lot of facts he has dug up on Hekmati and compares them with what was said in his confession, and adds his own conclusion at the end.

The good news is that many

artappraiser — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:16:44 +0000

In reply to Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges

The good news is that many Americans accused of spying in Iran are eventually released. The bad news for Amir Mirzaei Hekmati is that Iranian-Americans have it rougher.
By Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, January 9, 2012

Murphy mentions this

While his background (he served as a translator with the US military)

but then continues to write as if it is ridiculous to think he was working with, if not for, the CIA (it's not;) but as a whole, the article is a helpful roundup of recent cases

In Washington, the White

artappraiser — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:43:25 +0000

In reply to Iran court sentences American to death on spy charges

In Washington, the White House said it was working to verify the Iranian news accounts about the death sentence. ”If true, we strongly condemn such a verdict and will work with our partners to convey our condemnation to the Iranian government,” said Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council. “Allegations that Mr. Hekmati either worked for, or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false. The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons. We call upon the Iranian government to grant the Swiss protecting power immediate access to Mr. Hekmati, grant Mr. Hekmati access to legal counsel, and release him without delay.”

previously

The United States had demanded Mr. Hekmati’s release and the State Department said last month that Iran had not permitted diplomats from the Swiss Embassy, which represents American interests in Iran, to see him before or during his trial.

from Iran Imposes Death Sentence on U.S. Man Accused of Spying

By Harvey Morris, for the New York Times in London, Jan 9, 2012

from the same also note, my bold:

On Sunday, Heydar Moslehi, the Iranian intelligence minister, said Iran had arrested several spies who sought to carry out American plans to disrupt parliamentary elections in March, according to Fars.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Mr. Moslehi said: “Our intelligence apparatus had complete information about the activities of the arrested spies. The detainees were in contact with abroad through cyberspace networks. We arrested them after we obtained full information about their espionage activities.”