Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified Hekmati’s family on Monday of the State Department’s formal wrongful‑detention determination.
- The designation places Hekmati’s case under the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, unlocking specialized resources and high‑level engagement.
- Hekmati, a 61‑year‑old New York resident, was arrested in Iran last July and given a two‑year sentence tied to a trip he made to Israel 13 years earlier.
- Advocates say he is held in Tehran’s Evin Prison and is battling bladder cancer, raising concerns about his health in custody.
- U.S. officials are tracking six American cases in Iran, with only Hekmati and journalist Reza Valizadeh designated as wrongfully detained following Washington’s recent label of Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention.