American hikers freed from Iranian prison … finally

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Everything is in place to post bail (for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer) and to have them released, except for the signature of a judge.
Masoud Shafii, the lawyer for the American hikers jailed in Iran • Revealing that the fate of the two men rested in the hands of a judge — the $500,000 bail for each is in place, it’s just a matter of getting the judge to make a critical last step. Then Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would be able to go home. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi hoped the judiciary would so so. “We hope the judiciary will announce its decision in the near future … According to our information, the judiciary has the intention of reducing their sentences,” Salehi said. The judiciary, which is very conservative, recently contradicted the words of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claiming that the hikers would not get released right away. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 10:14

The two Americans are going to stay in prison for a bit longer. Reports of their imminent release are wrong.
An Iranian judiciary official • Basically contradicting what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said about the fates of American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who have been held by Iran for two years for what effectively amounts to trespassing. Was Ahmadinejad simply making nice with Ann Curry? Or sounding nice for the United Nations? If so, that’s really lame. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Of the 751 days of Shane and Josh’s imprisonment, yesterday and today have been the most difficult for our families. Shane and Josh are innocent and have never posed any threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran, its government or its people.
A statement from the families of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal • Expressing disappointment over the eight-year sentence imposed on the two men by Iran. The men received the jail sentence for spying and entering the country, but the hikers emphasize that they merely walked into Iran by accident. Meanwhile, the lawyer for the men, Masoud Shafiee, plans to appeal the tough sentence. “I still hope for my clients to benefit from Islamic kindness and compassion in this holy month (of Ramadan),” he said. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

I think he went to [Iraqi] Kurdistan to cover the elections … and [during a hike] unfortunately didn’t know the ground he was walking on well enough to avoid crossing over whatever boundary was there.
New America Media executive director Sandy Close • Discussing the fate of Shane Bauer, one of the hikers who was sentenced to eight years in prison for accidentally crossing into Iran back in 2009. Bauer had planned to write a story about Iraqi Kurdistan, but those plans were put on hold after Bauer and his friends Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd were arrested for accidentally crossing into Iran, and then getting caught. Shourd was let go on the promise she’d eventually come back, but Fattal and Bauer will spend a decade in jail. Where’s Bill Clinton to broker a deal when you need him? source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink