Iranians seek death against Flint grad

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian news agency says prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a Michigan high school graduate accused of trying to infiltrate Iran's intelligence services for the CIA.

The report Tuesday by the semiofficial Fars agency says Amir Mirzaei Hekmati repeated a confession at a hearing that was like one aired Dec. 18 on state TV.

The report says Hekmati's lawyer rejected the accusations.

A family friend of a Michigan high school graduate accused by Iran of working for the CIA says efforts continue to free him.

Flint-area lawyer Muna Jondy told The Flint Journal Wednesday that 28-year-old Amir Mirzaei Hekmati's family in Michigan was "frantic" following the death penalty report.

Messages seeking comment from Jondy and Hekmati's father, a professor at Mott Community College in Flint, were left by The Associated Press.

In a closed court hearing, the prosecution applied for capital punishment, the Fars report said, in part because Hekmati "planned to imply that Iran was involved in terrorist activities."

Hekmati's family has said he is not a CIA spy.

The 28-year-old was born in Flagstaff, Ariz., and graduated from Flint Central High School. Mott Community College microbiology professor Ali Hekmati says his son isn't a CIA spy and was visiting his grandmothers in Iran when he was detained.

Iran contends the ex-U.S. Marine received special training and served at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran for his alleged intelligence mission.

On the Net:

About Amir Hekmati