Family of ex-US Marine hopeful he'll be home soon

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FLINT, MI (AP) -

The family of an ex-U.S. Marine who was sentenced to death on charges of working for the CIA says it's hopeful he'll soon be allowed to return home.

Amir Hekmati's family released a statement to The Associated Press marking Saturday, his 29th birthday. It includes a prayer that he will be "given the strength to endure" and wishing him a happy birthday. The family says it hasn't received much information about his case.

In March, the semiofficial Isna news agency reported Iran's Supreme Court reported a retrial.

Hekmati was sentenced to death in January, the first American to receive a death penalty since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Hekmati was born in Arizona and grew up in Michigan. His parents are of Iranian origin.

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