CNN EXCLUSIVE: Lawyer of ex-U.S. Marine convicted of spying in Iran speaks to CNN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pierre Prosper, the lawyer who is battling to save convicted ex-U.S. Marine Amir Mirzaie Hekmati from the death penalty in Iran, speaks exclusively to CNN, stating, “He’s a human being and deserves to be treated as such.”
Video: http://on.cnn.com/wBkTtT
Story: http://on.cnn.com/A6Y8r1
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TRANSCRIPT:
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN: Can you free Amir?
PIERRE PROSPER, LAWYER FOR AMIR HEKMATI: That is the goal. Firstly, the family is obviously shocked and troubled by the reports of the Iranian government issuing the death penalty. We believe that there is a fundamental misunderstanding in that the accusations against him are false. That said, we’re prepared to open up a line of communication with the government and we hope that they accept it because we believe that there’s a workable way around this.
VERJEE: What are the practical steps that you’re going to take?
PROSPER: The first step really is to reach out back to the government and establish some relationships based on my prior negotiations with the Taghavi case. I’ll try to revive those connections and see if they are willing to have a conversation.
VERJEE: What worries you most about this case?
PROSPER: What worries me most is this case is entrapped in an intense political environment. So we want to remove it from the political environment and establish a humanitarian corridor of communication if you will, and see if we can just talk about Amir as a human being.
VERJEE: Can you really do that given the intense political climate? That’s going to be very difficult isn’t it?
PROSPER: It will be, but it’s possible. One of the ways to do it is to move the governments, if you will out of this and have it be a communication from the family to the government.
VERJEE: What did you learn from the previous case you dealt with – Reza Taghavi – and how can you take the lessons of those experiences and apply it to this case?
PROSPER: Well, the real lesson is firstly to listen to the Iranian government, to hear what their concerns and their needs are. And then we’ll try to address them as best as we can as private individuals. And from there we’ll explain to them what we can do and what we can’t do. But all along we will make them understand that this is a humanitarian case, he’s a human being and deserves to be treated as such.
VERJEE: Have you had any contact with him at all, do you know of his physical condition, state of mind, anything?
PROSPER: We’ve had no contact. The family in the US has not spoken with him since his incarceration, his detention. From the videos we’ve seen, he looks to have lost weight, he appears to be under duress… We are concerned.
VERJEE: What is the family’s message to Iran?
PROSPER: The family’s message is – please show some compassion. You’ve made your decision, we obviously disagree with the decision, but we are where we are… allow him to come home to the United States.
VERJEE: The speed in which the Iranians incarcerated him, put on the trial and then sentenced him to death has been incredibly fast. Is that something that concerns you?
PROSPER: It does. It’s unusual. Usually these processes…
VERJEE: Takes a much longer time…
PROSPER: Exactly. But this was literally a half day trial. He was in detention only for a few months, and the verdict came within weeks. We also are troubled by the fact that there’s been no transparency, so it’s really hard to see that happened within the proceedings.
VERJEE: What are your real expectations of this specific case?
PROSPER: Well, our hope is that they will talk to us. Our hope is that they will listen to the family and will provide as much information as possible to help them make a humanitarian decision. And our hope is that they realise that they’ve made their case, they’ve made their point, and now we can remove Amir from this political environment and let him come back.
VERJEE: Which sectors of the Iranian government do you even deal with because it’s almost like a kaleidoscope when you deal with the Iranians – you’re not really sure with the murky politics and the environment that you’re dealing with the hard-liners, or somebody else. How do you work that out as a legal representative?
PROSPER: It is murky, but the first thing is to go through the foreign ministry where I’ve been able to establish some contacts and allow them to put me in contact with the right authorities – people who have decision making powers.
VERJEE: And how’s the family coping?
PROSPER: It’s very difficult. I hear from them easily five or six times a day. As you can imagine, the stress is very high. The news is not positive, but we try to reassure them that it’s no over and we will engage the government and hope they show compassion.
—ENDS—