The sister of former Camp Pendleton Marine Amir Mirzaei Hekmati is calling on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to free her brother, as the Iranian president visits the United States, writes the Associated Press.
Hekmati, 29, is of Iranian descent and has duel U.S-Iran citizenship. He was visiting his grandmothers in Iran when he was detained and accused of spying.
The A.P. reports that Hekmati's sister Sarah was concerned when Ahmadinejad claimed during his U.S. visit that he didn't know anything about her brother's case. However, after an A.P. reporter informed the Iranian leader about Hekmati's situation, Sarah became encouraged:
"[N]ow he knows about it. Now when he goes back to Iran, what is he going to do about it?"
As Home Post reported in January, Hekmati joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and received basic training at Camp Pendleton.
The U.S. State Department has demanded Iran release Hekmati.
