Currently locked in a prison cell in Tehran after being sentenced to death, Iranian-American Amir Hekmati is an unfortunate victim of the increased tensions between Iran and the U.S., a Middle Eastern expert at Amnesty International exclusively told RadarOnline.com.

"His treatment falls into a very known pattern of people who are trotted out and accused of espionage," Elise Auerbach, Iran Country Specialist of Amnesty International USA told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.

However, it is the severity of the sentence that is unusual and is shocking to the human rights group.