(International Business Times) – Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, who is imprisoned in Iran for more than three years for allegedly spying for the CIA, has begun a hunger strike, his family said Tuesday, without mentioning when he started the strike, according to media reports. The family also released an open letter he had written to President Barack Obama asking “not to forget me” as the two countries continue talks over Iran’s proposed nuclear program.
In the letter, the 31-year-old from Flint, Michigan, reportedly said that he is “deeply concerned” that his detention has become somehow linked to the “delicate” nature of nuclear negotiations with Iran. Negotiations between Iran and the group of six big powers, including the U.S., began Tuesday in Geneva after being extended twice. The negotiations are now reportedly facing a July deadline.
“It is my hope that after reading this letter you, or anyone who may see this, will help end the nightmare I have been living,” the letter reads, according to The Associated Press.