Iran has sentenced Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Iranian American Jew from New York, to prison for traveling to Israel 13 years ago to celebrate his son’s bar mitzvah, family members confirmed, according to a Thursday report in The New York Times.
Hekmati, a jeweler and longtime resident of Great Neck, Long Island, was arrested in July while visiting relatives in Tehran. He has been held in the notorious Evin Prison since then.
In late August, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years in prison under a law banning Iranian citizens from visiting Israel. In September, the judiciary reduced the punishment to two years and halved his sentence.
Hekmati, who immigrated to the United States at age 13, traveled to Iran using his Iranian passport, as required by Iranian law. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship.
Family members, who spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, said Hekmati was not involved in politics and had visited Israel for personal reasons. They are appealing for his release on humanitarian grounds, citing his battle with aggressive bladder cancer.
Security forces detained Hekmati at Tehran’s airport in May, confiscated his passport, and demanded access to his phone and social media, according to The New York Times report. He was interrogated multiple times before being arrested in early July, shortly after a US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
He was sentenced without legal representation, and a lawyer was hired only after the verdict. A court date for the appeal has not yet been set.
The US State Department declined to comment on individual cases but stated: “Iran should release these individuals immediately,” referring to Hekmati and at least three other Americans currently held in Iran.