Former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati said he had accepted his fate – that he would spend 10 years in an Iranian prison with little hope of being released before that decade passed.
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Hekmati was released along with Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Americans to coincide with the lifting last weekend of economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on Tehran’s atomic program. Unfortunately many people traveled this road with me.
American prisoners released by Iran flew to Geneva in a Swiss Air Force jet on Sunday before being transferred to a United States military plane that took them on to an American base in Germany, Swiss government sources said.
He and several other Americans in Iranian jails were eventually freed in a prisoner swap – the result of 14 months of secret negotiations between the US and Iran.
FILE – In this Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 video frame grab image made from the Iranian broadcaster IRIB TV, U.S. citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, accused by Iran of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency, sits in Tehran’s revolutionary court, in Iran.
Rezaian, aged 39, told his editors he was “feeling good” physically as he met with them for the first time since his release from Iran’s notorious Evin prison following a July 2014 arrest, The Washington Post reported.
Less than a week after being released from Iranian incarceration last Saturday, Hekmati, 32, is expected to land with his family at Flint’s Bishop International Airport about 4 p.m.
The American released separately, Matthew Trevithick, returned home to MA on Sunday for an emotional reunion with his family after 40 days in prison, according to The Boston Globe.
“I didn’t want to let my fellow Marines down, and the reputation of the Marine Corps, so I tried my best to keep my head up and withstand all the pressure that were put upon me”, he said.
VIENNA (AP) – Four Americans detained in Iran will be coming home and seven Iranians in US custody also will win their freedom in a breakthrough swap negotiated by the longtime foes, officials in both countries said.
“This is a good day because once again we’re seeing what is possible with strong American diplomacy”, Mr. Obama said in remarks at the White House.
Mr. Rezaian had been held more than 543 days on espionage and related charges.
“I think the first thing he asked for was some information”, Ali Rezaian said.
FILE – In this April 11, 2013 file photo, Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American correspondent for the Washington Post, smiles as he attends a presidential campaign of President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Iran. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi were also released.
He was reunited with his parents on Thursday, his wife said.
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Hekmati suffered from health problems, including weight loss and breathing difficulties, according to his family.
