US Muslims Seek Clemency For Condemned US-Iranian

DETROIT (AP) — An American Muslim group has appealed to Iran’s top leader to show clemency for an ex-U.S. military translator with dual citizenship condemned to death on accusations of being a CIA spy.

A letter Tuesday from the Council on American-Islamic Relations asks Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to spare the life of Amir Hekmati.

The 28-year-old ex-Marine was born in Arizona and attended high school in Michigan. His Iran-born father is a professor at Mott Community College in Flint and says his son isn’t a spy.

Council Michigan director Dawud Walid (dah-OOD’ WAH’-led) in Southfield says his group is willing to fly to Tehran to secure Hekmati’s release.

Walid’s letter says his group hopes Hekmati receives “the same mercy and compassion” that Iran has shown other Americans “charged with similar offenses.”