Iranian-American Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine whose previous death sentence in Iran on espionage charges was overturned, has been secretly retried, convicted of collaborating with the U.S. government and sentenced to 10 years in prison, The New York Times reported Friday, quoting his lawyer.
The newspaper quoted lawyer Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei as saying Hekmati, held since 2011, was not told by Iranian officials about the December retrial, conviction or prison sentence.
The Times said Tabatabaei suggested that Hekmati possibly could be released in a matter of months, particularly if the U.S. frees at least some Iranian prisoners. Hekmati was arrested in August 2011, his family says, and convicted of spying for the CIA, a charge his relatives and Washington deny.