In a meeting Sunday with relatives of a U.S. Marine imprisoned in Iran, Vice President Joe Biden said a "good atmosphere" has been created with the Islamic Republic to work toward the release of Amir Hekmati, according to his family.
Biden met Sunday in Detroit with the family of Hekmati, who was arrested in August 2011 on allegations of spying for the CIA while visiting his ailing grandmother and other relatives in Iran. During his nearly four-year imprisonment, Hekmati has been drugged, whipped and told a heartbreaking lie that his mother died in a car accident, his family said.
Sunday's meeting with the vice president renewed the family's hope that Hekmati will be freed, the man's sister, Sarah Hekmati, told FoxNews.com.
"He was very understanding and supportive and he reassured us that Amir has been a priority since the beginning," Sarah Hekmati said. "We felt good about the meeting."
"He wanted to let us know Amir is not forgotten," she added. "He said there's a good atmosphere that’s been created for them to discuss Amir's case [with Iran]."
She said Biden asked the family's permission to make the Marine Corps veteran's plight "more public."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/04/biden-meets-with-family-us-marine-imprisoned-in-iran/
