Great Neck Estates man detained in Iran since July as relatives, local officials urge U.S. to help free him

Long Island officials and relatives of a Great Neck Estates man being held prisoner in Iran are asking the U.S. State Department to help negotiate the man’s release.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday for help in getting Kamran Hekmati, 70, released, after he was arrested by Iranian authorities during a visit earlier this year.

Hekmati, who suffers from bladder cancer, was charged after Iranian authorities discovered he had traveled to Israel for his son’s bar mitzvah 13 years ago. Going to Israel has since been outlawed for Iranian citizens. 

"Everybody’s anxious to have him free from prison and come back home. That’s the wish of all family members and relatives," said his cousin Showhreh Nowfar, of California, in an interview. "He is very sick and he needs treatment. As far as the humanitarian reasons, he needs to be released from prison."

Relatives said the family had gone to celebrate the bar mitzvah in Israel more than 13 years ago. Hekmati, who lives in Great Neck Estates, then returned to Iran in May to visit family and friends. He holds dual American-Iranian citizenship, family members said.

When he attempted to fly home, Iranian officials seized his passport for two months and brought him in for questioning several times before he was arrested in July. He was imprisoned under an Iranian law that makes it a crime to visit Israel. He was tried without a lawyer and sentenced to 4 years in prison, relatives said.

The family argued that Iran passed the law in 2018, four years after he visited Israel.

"He didn’t commit a crime. His alleged crime was he went to Israel 13 years ago," Nowfar said. "He is not guilty of anything. He was just in Iran at a bad time. He is a family man and wanted to help others."

His sentence was reduced to 2 years under a change in Iranian law in September, relatives said. He’s already served more than 4 months in prison and relatives and officials are seeking an appeal.

Relatives said Hekmati is allowed to make phone calls home, but they fear for his safety and said he is worried he may die in prison. He receives some medical attention but is in need of treatment in the United States for his bladder cancer. He was not allowed to return home after his mother died in July, relatives said, and is depressed.

"Mr. Hekmati, a dual American-Iranian citizen, was sentenced to prison during a visit to Iran earlier this year to see family, a trip he has made on multiple occasions without issue," Suozzi wrote in his letter to Rubio. "His alleged crime was attending his son’s bar mitzvah in Israel 13 years ago."

Suozzi said he was contacted by Great Neck officials, including members of the Persian American community and Great Neck Estates Mayor William Warner, who had not heard from Hekmati for several months.

Warner said he has known Hekmati for about 20 years and was contacted by the chairman of the village's zoning board of appeals. Hekmati was a member of the board.

"It is so unbelievable to me that something like this could happen to a 70-year-old guy left under terrible circumstances," Warner said. "He went to visit family and was put in jail for something that happened 13 years ago because he had the temerity to step foot in Israel to visit with his son."

Suozzi said Tuesday that he was waiting for a classified security briefing from the State Department and requested "an assessment of the broader threat to Americans in the region posed by the Iranian regime."

"It’s very distressing that a U.S. citizen can travel to go see family and be incarcerated," Suozzi told Newsday. "We know that the Iranian government is very adversarial to the U.S. and our allies. The president and secretary of state need to use their influence to ensure his safety."

The White House and State Department could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The Office of the Protection of the Interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which provides services to Iranian citizens in the United States, did not respond to a call Tuesday seeking comment.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.