Amir visited Iran in August 2011 to see his ailing grandmother. The young man had served previously as an Arabic translator in the US Marine Corps and was made to take part in a televised "confession" just before his trial in December. In a statement issued on 8 January, Amnesty International has expressed the fear that Amir could be executed within weeks. His appeal against the conviction must be lodged within 20 days.

Following Hekmati’s sentence, his parents, who are classroom teachers in Michigan and members of the National Education Association, an Amercian EI affiliate, released a statement, saying they were "shocked and terrified" by the news. Amir’s mother, Behnaz Hekmati, said in the statement: "We believe that this verdict is the result of a process that was neither transparent nor fair. Amir did not engage in any acts of spying, or 'fighting against God,' as the convicting judge has claimed in his sentence. Amir is not a criminal. His very life is being exploited for political gain."

Hekmati’s family said he was being represented by a government-appointed lawyer even though they tried to hire a private lawyer for him, CNN reported. He is the first American to receive a death sentence in Iran since the Iran revolution more than 30 years ago.

There are several other Iranian detainees at risk of execution, including blogger Vahid Asghari, detained since May 2008, and Saeed Malekpour, a web- designer and permanent resident of Canada, who was arrested in 2008 during a family visit. The government has officially acknowledged executing 17 people already this year, but Amnesty International has received information suggesting that at least 39 people may have been put to death in the first week of 2012 alone.

In a letter sent today to Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, the General Secretary of Education International, Fred van Leeuwen, strongly urged the Iranian authorities to halt the execution of Amir Hekmati. Apart from the fact that an unjust and unfair trial led to the sentencing of Amir Hekmati to death, Education International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and the ultimate violation of the right to life. This was determined by the Fourth World Congress of Education International, meeting in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in 2004, in its Resolution against the Death Penalty.

Letters and emails urging to stop the execution of Amir Hekmati should be addressed to:

His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir

Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader: info_leader@leader.ir

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Head of the Judiciary: bia.judi@yahoo.com

The protest letter sent by Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary, can be downloaded here: Request to Halt the Execution of Amir Hekmati by Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary