After 4 1/2 grueling years, son of MCC faculty member Ali Hekmati is coming home.
Amir Hekmati was one of four U.S. citizens that were released Saturday as part of a prisoner swap brokered between the U.S. and Iran.
While visiting family members in Iran in 2011, Amir was imprisoned and falsely charged with treason. Since then, his family and U.S. lawmakers, including U.S. Congressman Dan Kildee, have fought for his release.
The Hekmati family says in a statement,
"Today, our brother, son and friend Amir Hekmati has been released from Iran. We have now been officially told that he is on a plane leaving the country.
It is hard to put into words what our family feels right now.
But we remain in hopeful anticipation until Amir is in our arms.
As many of you know, Amir’s father is very ill and soon he will embrace his son once more. We are incredibly grateful for today’s news. We thank our government, and we thank all of you whose thoughts and prayers helped us tremendously since Amir was taken from us in 2011."
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