W.E.B. Du Bois
08-21-2011, 07:35 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/world/middleeast/21hikers.html
Two American hikers imprisoned in Iran for more than two years have been convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years in jail, according to an unconfirmed news report on Iranian state television on Saturday.
The sentences, if confirmed, seemed unexpectedly severe coming not long after senior Iranian officials said that the men might be released soon, perhaps as a humanitarian gesture during the current holy month of Ramadan. Ali Akbar Salehi, the foreign minister, was quoted by local news media as saying he hoped the end of the trial on July 31 would lead to their freedom.
The two Americans, Shane M. Bauer and Joshua F. Fattal, both 29, have spent two years in a Tehran prison after being arrested near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan in July 2009. A third hiker, Sarah E. Shourd, was released on $500,000 bail in September 2010, and the latest report said her case remained open.
The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, an official television channel, reported that Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal were sentenced to three years for entering Iran illegally and to five years for spying for the United States, a brief news report on the network’s Web site also said that they had 20 days to appeal.
The three Americans, all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, who were either studying or traveling in the Middle East, say they made an innocent mistake in wandering over the unmarked border, crossing when a soldier of unknown nationality waved to them to approach. They were only then told they had crossed into Iran and were arrested, Ms. Shourd, who is Mr. Bauer’s fiancée, has said.
Iran has never publicly presented any evidence of their spying, and Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal have entered a plea of not guilty. Masoud Shafiei, their lawyer, said in a telephone interview that he had not been informed of the verdict and would seek confirmation on Sunday.
I hate the Iranian regime. May the earth open up, swallow them, and smash their bones to a million pieces.
Two American hikers imprisoned in Iran for more than two years have been convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years in jail, according to an unconfirmed news report on Iranian state television on Saturday.
The sentences, if confirmed, seemed unexpectedly severe coming not long after senior Iranian officials said that the men might be released soon, perhaps as a humanitarian gesture during the current holy month of Ramadan. Ali Akbar Salehi, the foreign minister, was quoted by local news media as saying he hoped the end of the trial on July 31 would lead to their freedom.
The two Americans, Shane M. Bauer and Joshua F. Fattal, both 29, have spent two years in a Tehran prison after being arrested near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan in July 2009. A third hiker, Sarah E. Shourd, was released on $500,000 bail in September 2010, and the latest report said her case remained open.
The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, an official television channel, reported that Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal were sentenced to three years for entering Iran illegally and to five years for spying for the United States, a brief news report on the network’s Web site also said that they had 20 days to appeal.
The three Americans, all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, who were either studying or traveling in the Middle East, say they made an innocent mistake in wandering over the unmarked border, crossing when a soldier of unknown nationality waved to them to approach. They were only then told they had crossed into Iran and were arrested, Ms. Shourd, who is Mr. Bauer’s fiancée, has said.
Iran has never publicly presented any evidence of their spying, and Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal have entered a plea of not guilty. Masoud Shafiei, their lawyer, said in a telephone interview that he had not been informed of the verdict and would seek confirmation on Sunday.
I hate the Iranian regime. May the earth open up, swallow them, and smash their bones to a million pieces.