Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Dos Equis on August 01, 2009, 05:44:57 PM
-
Must be more spies.
Iran state TV confirms arrest of 3 Americans
Posted 8/1/2009 6:49 PM ET
By Yahya Barzanji, Associated Press Writer
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards.
Kurdish officials from the self-ruled region in northern Iraq said the three -- two men and a woman -- were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.
"The Iranians said they have arrested them because they entered their land without legal permission," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish regional government's envoy to Washington.
Iran's state owned Arabic-language al-Alam TV station cited a "well-informed source" in the Interior Ministry that the three Americans were detained Friday after crossing into Iran's Kurdistan province.
The report said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border guards.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Saturday that Washington had asked the Swiss, who represent U.S. interests in Tehran, "to confirm these reports with Iranian authorities and, if true, to seek consular access" to the detained Americans.
The detentions were the latest irritant in relations between Iran and the United States, which have had no diplomatic ties since 1979 when militant students stormed the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took Americans there hostage for 444 days. The two countries also are locked in a bitter dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.
. . . .
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=honoluluadvertiser&sParam=31288805.story
-
Since when are there tourists in Iraq?
-
hahahaha
"tourists"
oh brother.
hey BB, the woman arrested as a spy had govt documents and once she was freed, came home and readily admitted on US tv that she told them she was a spy to get more coverage for her case.
-
hahahaha
"tourists"
oh brother.
hey BB, the woman arrested as a spy had govt documents and once she was freed, came home and readily admitted on US tv that she told them she was a spy to get more coverage for her case.
She thought she was going to die. What's your point? In any event, here is what she said:
Freed U.S. Reporter Roxana Saberi: Fear Led to My False Confession to Iranian Interrogators
Agence France Presse. Posted May 28, 2009.
"Yes, I'm a U.S. spy," Saberi told Iranian interrogators after being threatened with with harsh punishment, even execution.
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Iranian-American reporter Roxana Saberi said Thursday fear drove her to confess to being a U.S. spy as she gave her first interview since being freed after 100 days in Iran's notorious Evin prison.
U.S.-born Saberi, who had been living in Iran for six years and working as a reporter for Western media outlets while writing a book, told National Public Radio (NPR) that no one saw her being taken from her home on January 31 by four men from the Iranian intelligence ministry, and she wasn't allowed to contact friends or family when she was thrown in Evin the same day.
"After I realized that nobody knew where I was, I was very afraid, and my interrogators threatened me and said, if you don't confess to being a U.S. spy, you could be here for 10 years or 20 years. You could even face execution," she told NPR.
"And I thought, well, if something happens to me, my family doesn't know where I am, maybe they would never find out. And so I made a false confession and I said, 'Yes, I'm a U.S. spy,'" the 32-year-old told NPR's Melissa Block, host of the popular "All Things Considered" program.
"I'm still not sure what they arrested me for. It wasn't for buying alcohol; it wasn't for reporting without a press pass," Saberi said.
Both accusations have been raised by the media and officials in Iran as the reason for Saberi's arrest.
Saberi told NPR that her interrogators had from the go accused her of spying for the United States.
"However much I told them that I was not -- that I was simply writing a book and doing interviews for a book, which I hoped to use to show English speakers around the world a more balanced and complete picture of Iranian society -- however much I told them this, they told me I was lying and that I was a U.S. spy," she said.
In Evin, the jail in the Tehran suburbs where many political prisoners are held, Saberi endured "severe psychological and mental pressure, although I was not physically tortured.
"The first few days, I was interrogated for several hours, from morning until evening, blindfolded, facing a wall, by up to four men, and threatened ... I was in solitary confinement for several days," Saberi said.
Those days in isolation, when nobody knew where she was, were the "most difficult time for me," said Saberi.
"I prayed a lot -- I prayed more than I ever have in my whole life."
After several weeks, Saberi was put in a cell with "other political prisoners," she said.
She drew strength from her fellow inmates, whom she described as "some of the most admirable women I've met, not only in Iran, but all over the world.
"They're not willing to give in to pressure to make false confessions or to sign off to commitments not to take part in their activities once they're released; they would rather stay in prison and stand up for those principles that they believe in," Saberi said.
"Many of them are still there today," she said.
Saberi eventually recanted her confession of spying. She walked free from Evin jail on May 11 after a court reduced her eight-year prison term for espionage to a two-year suspended sentence.
She arrived back in the United States last week, telling reporters who met her at Dulles Airport near Washington that she sang the U.S. national anthem to herself while in Evin prison.
Asked if she had any plans to return to Iran, Saberi replied, "Definitely."
She had "learned to love the country" during her six years there.
"Most of the people were so hospitable to me -- so kind and so generous.
"Definitely, I hope to go back someday," she said.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/140330/freed_u.s._reporter_roxana_saberi:_fear_led_to_my_false_co nfession_to_iranian_inte rrogators/
-
"Vacation cancelled. We've got a Mission ramping up"
- twenty nine palms Marines Special Forces Locker room.
-
I wonder if Hillary will be very disappointed like she was with the last spy.
-
Hillary must be really mad now.
Iran says 3 detained Americans might be spies
Posted 8/4/2009 6:30 PM ET
(http://images.usatoday.com/Wires2Web/20090804/57065649_CORRECTION_Iraq_Iran_missing_American_x.jpg)
Unidentified foreign and local tourists are seen at Dokan Resort, where three American hikers were last seen, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Iranian authorities have given no word on three Americans detained after reportedly wandering across the border with Iraq last week during a hike in the Iraqi Kurdish region. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
By Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has arrested three Americans who strayed across the border from Iraq on allegations they illegally entered the country, and a lawmaker said Tuesday that authorities are deciding whether they will be accused of spying.
Officials in northern Iraq's Kurdish region said Sunday that the three -- Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal -- were tourists who inadvertently crossed into Iran on July 31 while hiking in the region. Friends and family say the three were adventurous travelers who accidentally stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time.
Their arrest and Iran's accusations could spark a new standoff with the United States at a time when Iran is already mired in its worst political crisis in decades over the disputed June 12 presidential election. Earlier this year, the two countries faced off over American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was held for more than three months and accused of spying.
Lawmaker Mohammad Karim Abedi, who heads the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, said on state-run Arabic television Al-Alam that he believed the three came as spies but authorities are still deciding whether there is proof to bring legal action against them.
"Surely we can say that they came as spies," he said. "The concerned authorities will decide whether they were spies or not," he added. "If it is proven that they were spies, the necessary legal procedures will be sought against them."
. . . .
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=honoluluadvertiser&sParam=31309255.story
-
I believe these 3 claimed to be reporters?
if so, it should be easy to document their years of experience in the field and verify their stories.
-
If u go near that border or near nKorea...u know the risks or ur a friggen idiot. Their parents say they were students.
-
Student spies, no doubt.
-
If u go near that border or near nKorea...u know the risks or ur a friggen idiot. Their parents say they were students.
Exactly. They were warned numerous times and they continued on anyway. From the news reports, they sound like arrogant, cocky kids who are now knee deep in shit.
-
If u go near that border or near nKorea...u know the risks or ur a friggen idiot. Their parents say they were students.
common sense aint that common anymore
-
Peace groups and others do this shit. It happens and then is some situations US or other SOF end up having to rescue them, as has happened in Latin America. Sometimes its their fault, sometimes not....these kids are idiots.
-
Peace groups and others do this shit. It happens and then is some situations US or other SOF end up having to rescue them, as has happened in Latin America. Sometimes its their fault, sometimes not....these kids are idiots.
You are going to see a lot more of this.
The rewards for Iran and North Korea for freeing these people ensure this.
In this case Israel has it right. You can't negotiate.
Any American person going near this place is crazy.
Won't be surprised if hostages start being taken in Iraq as well.
-
If Bill is gonna come visit u, why not..he brings treats. We'll soon see what kind of treats he brought the midget. There are places u go and places u don't. If u go near the Iranian border and u don't have SOCOM backing u up..ur a friggen retard.
-
:-\
Iran Says 3 Americans Should Stand Trial
Sunday, 01 Aug 2010
Iran reiterated on Sunday that three Americans jailed a year ago should stand trial on charges of illegally crossing the country's borders.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran is also considering other possible charges against Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal including intentionally acting against Iranian security, according to a state media report. There has been no indication from Iran so far that formal charges against the three have been filed.
The Americans' families and the U.S. government say the three are innocent and accidentally crossed Iran's border while hiking in northern Iraq.
"The three American citizens have been detained for illegal entry to Iranian territory," Mehmanparast said, according to the website of the state broadcasting company. "So the violation of law is obvious and they should be answerable before the law like any other individual."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has in the past proposed swapping the three for Iranians he says are jailed in the U.S., raising fears that the Americans are being held as bargaining chips.
But in his latest remarks, Mehmanparast denied their case was related to Iranians allegedly held in the U.S. Iran claims 11 of its citizens are held in U.S. jails.
"Their case is merely a judicial issue," said Mehmanparast in response to protests in several cities around the world over the weekend to demand the release of the three.
Mehmanparast said the three American prisoners, whom Iran has alleged in the past were spies for the United States, have been offered support from the Swiss embassy. The U.S. broke off ties with Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Switzerland handles U.S. interests in Iran.
Shourd, Bauer and Fattal met as students at the University of California at Berkeley. Last summer, Bauer, 28, a freelance journalist, and Shourd, 31, an English teacher, were living in Damascus, Syria. Bauer had just finished a magazine assignment, and Shourd was planning to learn Arabic.
Fattal, 28, had been overseas as a teaching assistant with the International Honors Program since January 2009. During his visit to Damascus, the three decided to take a hiking trip in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, according to their families. That is where they were seized by Iranian authorities, who accuse them of illegally crossing their border.
President Barack Obama marked the first anniversary of the jailing of three Americans over the weekend by reiterating that they are guilty of nothing, have never worked for the U.S. government and never had any quarrel with the Iranian government.
Family members on Friday were joined by about 75 supporters outside the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York. They held mock prison bars and pitched a tent with a sign that read: "Free the hikers. 365 days."
The mothers of the three were allowed a brief visit with their children in Tehran in May and they said they have not received any word since about their children. Iranian officials have not let the families' lawyer see their children since then, and Swiss diplomats who were allowed to visit them several times before the mothers came have not been let back in.
Shourd's mother has said she is concerned for her daughter's health and worried she is not getting proper treatment for a serious gynecological condition. During their visit, she said, her daughter showed her a lump that had recently developed in her breast. She had a mammogram, but had not seen the results, the mother said.
Swiss diplomats have said in the past that Bauer suffered from a stomach ailment but it is not clear whether the condition is persistent.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ML-Iran-US-Hikers/2010/08/01/id/366264
-
Since when are there tourists in Iraq?
Exactly, WTF...
National Lampoons Iraqi Vacation
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__01UEDJDY5g/SD-qFWasnSI/AAAAAAAAB3s/XGE6kayKtFM/s320/vacation.jpg)
-
If three of them wandered across our borders they would be arrested too.
-
She thought she was going to die. What's your point? In any event, here is what she said:
Freed U.S. Reporter Roxana Saberi: Fear Led to My False Confession to Iranian Interrogators
she thought she was going to die?
you mean people give false confessions under duress and fear
that's weird
-
If three of them wandered across our borders they would be arrested too.
Bwahahaha! Only in Arizona.
-
Bwahahaha! Only in Arizona.
Good point ;D
-
They might benefit from waterboarding. :)
-
They might benefit from waterboarding. :)
absolutely
they would immediately tell the truth and admit they are students and then Iran would immediately apologize and let them go
works every time
-
absolutely
they would immediately tell the truth and admit they are students and then Iran would immediately apologize and let them go
works every time
[/quote
There's really no way to tell they aren't spies from news stories. Also, we don't find waterboarding illegal so having it done to our own people shouldn't be a problem.
-
absolutely
they would immediately tell the truth and admit they are students and then Iran would immediately apologize and let them go
works every time
There's really no way to tell they aren't spies from news stories. Also, we don't find waterboarding illegal so having it done to our own people shouldn't be a problem.
Many on the right think that waterboarding is not torture and also a very effective way of getting someone to tell the truth so surely no one could object to Iran waterboarding these women.
I mean it's so effective for getting the truth and not getting false confessions that I don't see how they can not use it
-
Must be more spies.
Iran state TV confirms arrest of 3 Americans
Posted 8/1/2009 6:49 PM ET
By Yahya Barzanji, Associated Press Writer
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards.
Kurdish officials from the self-ruled region in northern Iraq said the three -- two men and a woman -- were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.
"The Iranians said they have arrested them because they entered their land without legal permission," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish regional government's envoy to Washington.
Iran's state owned Arabic-language al-Alam TV station cited a "well-informed source" in the Interior Ministry that the three Americans were detained Friday after crossing into Iran's Kurdistan province.
The report said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border guards.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Saturday that Washington had asked the Swiss, who represent U.S. interests in Tehran, "to confirm these reports with Iranian authorities and, if true, to seek consular access" to the detained Americans.
The detentions were the latest irritant in relations between Iran and the United States, which have had no diplomatic ties since 1979 when militant students stormed the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took Americans there hostage for 444 days. The two countries also are locked in a bitter dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.
. . . .
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=honoluluadvertiser&sParam=31288805.story
Nothing unusual....I hike with friends in Iran on weekends.
-
Does not surprise me that CT nuts believe these dumb kids are American spies. It's laugh out loud funny. :)
-
Does not surprise me that CT nuts believe these dumb kids are American spies. It's laugh out loud funny. :)
Why hike the Rockies? Iran is a convenient location a ohhhhhh sooooo friendly. ::)
-
Why hike the Rockies? Iran is a convenient location a ohhhhhh sooooo friendly. ::)
You might have a point. Any government that would "secretly" fire a missile into the Pentagon, fake a plane crash, secretly dispose of the plane and the bodies, plant plane debris at the crash site, and fake footage of the crash, would certainly hire students to spy on the Iranian government by crossing the border in broad daylight with no cover, weapons, etc. ::)
-
Does not surprise me that CT nuts believe these dumb kids are American spies. It's laugh out loud funny. :)
would you have any problem if Iran decided to waterboard these "dumb kids" ?
-
You might have a point. Any government that would "secretly" fire a missile into the Pentagon, fake a plane crash, secretly dispose of the plane and the bodies, plant plane debris at the crash site, and fake footage of the crash, would certainly hire students to spy on the Iranian government by crossing the border in broad daylight with no cover, weapons, etc. ::)
You forgot to mention these students were carrying American passports and who stick out like sore thumbs in that part of the world. Because, you know, the CIA doesn't have anyone already planted in Iran and needs people who don't blend in at all. ::)
Supposedly the Iranians crossed over the border to grab these three, which wouldn't surprise me given the fact that their military has crossed over the Iraqi border multiple times in recent years.
-
You forgot to mention these students were carrying American passports and who stick out like sore thumbs in that part of the world. Because, you know, the CIA doesn't have anyone already planted in Iran and needs people who don't blend in at all. ::)
Supposedly the Iranians crossed over the border to grab these three, which wouldn't surprise me given the fact that their military has crossed over the Iraqi border multiple times in recent years.
The passports and white skin were all part of the plan.
-
One spy released . . . .
American woman freed after more than a year in prison in Iran says she's grateful, humbled
Published September 14, 2010
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An American woman released by Iran on Tuesday after more than a year in prison flew out of the country to the nearby Gulf nation of Oman to be reunited with her mother after a $500,000 bail was paid to win her freedom.
However, the case that has deepened strains between the U.S. and Iran was still far from resolved. Iranian authorities said they are not considering the immediate release of the two Americans arrested with 32-year-old Sarah Shourd. Iran has charged all three with spying, though their families say they were innocent hikers arrested in a scenic mountain area along Iran's border with Iraq.
The families of Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal greeted the news with mixed emotions.
"All of our families are relieved and overjoyed that Sarah has at last been released but we<re also heartbroken that Shane and Josh are still being denied their freedom for no just cause," they said in a statement.
Shourd's mother Nora said she has hoped and prayed for this moment for 410 days.
"I cannot wait to wrap Sarah in my arms and hold her close when we are finally together again. Sarah has had a long and difficult detainment and I am going to make sure that she now gets the care and attention she needs and the time and space to recover," she said. "I can only imagine how bittersweet her freedom must be for her, leaving Shane and Josh behind."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Shourd was being released on compassionate grounds because of health reasons. Her mother says she has serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
"We applaud the Iranian authorities for showing compassion in Sarah's case and again call on them to do the only right thing and release Shane and Josh immediately," the families' statement said. "They deserve to come home too. Iran has no grounds to deprive them of their liberty a moment longer."
A U.S. official said Shourd's flight took off from Iran en route to Oman, about a two-hour flight. Her mother was awaiting her arrival in Oman.
Tehran's chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said a $500,000 bail had been paid to Iran's Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman but it was not immediately clear who paid it. A U.S. official said neither the U.S. government nor the families of the hikers had paid the bail, but could not say who else might have paid it.
Both U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The release followed days of conflicting statements by Iranian authorities on whether she would be let go. The decision got mired in internal political feuds among Iran's leadership and questions over whether the family could raise the bail money and if it did, would the payment violate sanctions against Iran.
Shortly after Iranian state media announced Shourd's release, the country's hardline judiciary said the "pretrial detention" of Bauer and Fattal had been extended for two more months. Shourd and Bauer are engaged to be married.
"The judge issued the release order and Ms. Shourd was simply set free and she can leave Iran if she wants to," he told state-run English-language Press TV. He said the cases of the two American men, both 28, will be sent to the revolutionary court and "there is no talk of releasing those two right now."
Iran indicted the three Americans on spy-related charges on Sunday and the prosecutor's statement suggested the men would face trials while proceedings against Shourd could be held in absentia.
The U.S. broke off ties with Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Switzerland handles U.S. interests in Iran.
Shourd, who grew up in Los Angeles, Bauer, who grew up in Onamia, Minn., and Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pa., were detained along the Iran-Iraq border on July 31, 2009 and accused of illegally crossing the border and spying in a case that has deepened tensions with Washington. Their families say they were hiking in Iraq's scenic north, and that if they crossed the border, they did so unwittingly.
The stage was set for Shourd's release last week when Ahmadinejad said he intervened as a gesture of Islamic compassion at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. However, the judiciary quickly upstaged the president by saying it was in charge of the case and would set the rules — in the form of the largest known bail for any high-profile Westerner jailed in the past year.
Shortly after judicial officials announced the bail on Sunday, Shourd's lawyer predicted she could walk free in "two or three days."
Moves to release Shourd have been accompanied by political jockeying in Iran between Ahmadinejad and his more conservative rivals.
On Monday, Shourd's family asked the Iranians to drop or lower the demanded sum because they were having difficulty raising the money.
U.S. sanctions put blanket restrictions on transactions with Iran's main state bank, Bank Melli, which has also been the channel for past bail payments to Iranian courts by foreign detainees. Washington accuses the bank of helping fund Iran's ballistic missile development and its nuclear program, which the U.S. says could eventually lead to atomic weapons. Iran says it only seeks peaceful nuclear reactors for energy.
U.N. sanctions also call on governments to block transactions with Melli and another major Iranian financial institution, Bank Saderat, if there are "reasonable grounds" they could contribute to Iran's nuclear activities.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/14/irans-state-tv-says-woman-freed-year-prison/
-
US Woman Who Was Held in Iran Says She's Not a Spy
Sunday, 19 Sep 2010
NEW YORK — An American woman who was held in Iran for more than 13 months says she and two men detained with her never spied or committed any crime. Sarah Shourd says they believe their arrest was based on "a huge misunderstanding."
Shourd spoke at a news conference in New York on Sunday after flying back to the U.S. She was freed Tuesday.
She, her fiance and another man were detained in July 2009 along the Iran-Iraq border. Iran has accused them of espionage.
The 32-year-old Shourd said in prepared remarks that the three were hiking in a popular tourist area in Iraq and didn't know they were near the border.
Shourd says she's grateful for her release. But she says she feels only "one-third free" because her fiance, Shane Bauer, and their friend Josh Fattal are still being held.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/IranUSHikers/2010/09/19/id/370806
-
Talk about falling off the radar. Just unconscionable that the Obama administration would allow these kids to sit in prison for two years without doing more to get them released.
Lawyer: 2 Americans held in Iran could be released
By Associated Press
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 30, 2011
TEHRAN, Iran » Two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage could be released after a court hearing slated for Sunday, their lawyer said.
Masoud Shafiei said Saturday the fact that the session in the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest may indicate that they will be freed.
The Muslim world also has a tradition of pardoning prisoners for the holy month of Ramadan, which starts early next week.
The two men and Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, were detained on July 31, 2009, and Iran accused them of illegally crossing the border to spy. Shourd was released last year on $500,000 bail and has said she won't return to Iran for trial.
They deny the charges and claim they were only hiking in a scenic, mountainous area in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, near the Iranian border.
The lawyer said Shourd has not been summoned for Sunday's trial session, and he thinks that's another indication that the case is almost over and his clients will be freed.
Shafiei suggested the court could convict the two but then sentence them to time served.
"They've spent two years of their life in jail in Iran, which will serve as their sentence. And tomorrow will coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest. My clients could be released should the court hearing be held tomorrow as planned," he said.
Shafiei insisted the authorities have no evidence to prove espionage, and he pointed out the area where they were detained has a porous border.
"The espionage charge is irrelevant, and the charge of illegal entry is inconsistent with the facts. There was no clear border line and my clients are not guilty. I've provided a sufficient defense," he said.
The U.S. government has appealed for the two men to be released, insisting that they have done nothing wrong.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/126449828.html
-
Talk about falling off the radar. Just unconscionable that the Obama administration would allow these kids to sit in prison for two years without doing more to get them released.
Lawyer: 2 Americans held in Iran could be released
By Associated Press
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 30, 2011
TEHRAN, Iran » Two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage could be released after a court hearing slated for Sunday, their lawyer said.
Masoud Shafiei said Saturday the fact that the session in the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest may indicate that they will be freed.
The Muslim world also has a tradition of pardoning prisoners for the holy month of Ramadan, which starts early next week.
The two men and Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, were detained on July 31, 2009, and Iran accused them of illegally crossing the border to spy. Shourd was released last year on $500,000 bail and has said she won't return to Iran for trial.
They deny the charges and claim they were only hiking in a scenic, mountainous area in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, near the Iranian border.
The lawyer said Shourd has not been summoned for Sunday's trial session, and he thinks that's another indication that the case is almost over and his clients will be freed.
Shafiei suggested the court could convict the two but then sentence them to time served.
"They've spent two years of their life in jail in Iran, which will serve as their sentence. And tomorrow will coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest. My clients could be released should the court hearing be held tomorrow as planned," he said.
Shafiei insisted the authorities have no evidence to prove espionage, and he pointed out the area where they were detained has a porous border.
"The espionage charge is irrelevant, and the charge of illegal entry is inconsistent with the facts. There was no clear border line and my clients are not guilty. I've provided a sufficient defense," he said.
The U.S. government has appealed for the two men to be released, insisting that they have done nothing wrong.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/126449828.html
Not anything he can do or any other US politician. If you travel outside the United States, then you're at the behest of whatever country you're in. No different than that thing in Italy.
Next time, they should vacation in Hawaii. Only a complete moron..or group of morons in this case would decide to take a vacation hiking in fucking Iran or Iraq..... ::)
-
Not anything he can do or any other US politician. If you travel outside the United States, then you're at the behest of whatever country you're in. No different than that thing in Italy.
Next time, they should vacation in Hawaii. Only a complete moron..or group of morons in this case would decide to take a vacation hiking in fucking Iran or Iraq..... ::)
agreed 1000%.
hiking at the iran border.... either they're spies, or the dumbest tourists in world history.
-
Not anything he can do or any other US politician. If you travel outside the United States, then you're at the behest of whatever country you're in. No different than that thing in Italy.
Next time, they should vacation in Hawaii. Only a complete moron..or group of morons in this case would decide to take a vacation hiking in fucking Iran or Iraq..... ::)
We could put a lot more pressure on Iran. It's just wrong to lock those kids up for two years for trespassing.
-
Where is the evidence that they were spies?
And what is Obama doing about this? ::)
Time to call Jesse Jackson or Bill Clinton (no sarcasm).
U.S. hikers in Iran get 8 years in prison, state media reports
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 20, 2011
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- The two U.S. hikers detained for two grueling years in Iran on spying charges have been sentenced to eight years in prison, state-run TV reported Saturday.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer each received five years for espionage -- specifically "cooperating with the American intelligence service" -- and three years for illegal entry, the IRINN reported, quoting an "informed" judiciary source.
They have 20 days to appeal their sentence, which was handed down by the Revolutionary Court, IRINN reported.
Fattal and Bauer and another person, Sarah Shourd, were seized on July 31, 2009 when they were hiking in the Iraqi Kurdish region and allegedly crossed into Iran illegally.
Shourd, Bauer's fiance, was released last year because of medical reasons, but the two men remained imprisoned in Iran.
The case has exacerbated tensions between United States and Iran, which don't have diplomatic relations. The longtime adversaries have been at odds over the Islamic republic's nuclear aspirations and Iran's ties to anti-American militants in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The United States has repeatedly called for their release. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.S. officials were working to confirm media reports of the sentences and trying to get more information with Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Iran.
"We have repeatedly called for the release of Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, who have now been held in Iran's Evin prison for two years. Shane and Josh have been imprisoned too long, and it is time to reunite them with their families. As Secretary (Hillary) Clinton has said, 'We continue to express our hope that the Iranian authorities will exercise the humanitarian option of releasing these two young men.' "
World leaders, such as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have urged Iran to release the men.
Amnesty International noted that Bauer and Fattal have been granted one brief family visit when their mothers met with them in May 2010.
"They have been denied adequate access to their lawyer and have had very limited access to consular assistance," the human rights watchdog said last month.
"Iranian authorities have ignored repeated appeals from the international community and the men's families to release them and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hinted that the hikers were being held as a bargaining chip to be used in Iran's dealings with the United States."
Iranian police said the Americans illegally entered Iran. The Tehran Prosecutor's office has "compelling evidence" that the three were cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies, Press TV has reported.
Shourd has said the hikers did not know they had crossed the border while hiking. Fattal and Bauer pleaded not guilty to the charges. The three are graduates of the University of California at Berkeley.
Their families have made urgent appeals to free the men and they formed a website to muster support for their release.
Their defense attorney, Masoud Shafiei, argued that his clients shouldn't be regarded as spies because they don't have the "characteristics and background of spies."
Shafiei had said the time the two have spent in Iranian custody is enough, even if the court reached a guilty verdict in a recent hearing.
Shourd was released in September and returned to the United States after 410 days of solitary confinement.
She remained a defendant in the case, but was not required to appear in court for a July 31 hearing.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/20/iran.us.hikers/index.html
-
Lawyers files appeal for U.S. hikers sentenced to 8 years in Iran
August 28, 2011|From Shirzad Bozorgmehr, CNN
The lawyer for two American hikers sentenced to eight years in prison said Sunday he has filed an appeal in the case.
Masoud Shafiee said it could take the court anywhere from a few days to two months to respond. "However, I am hopeful that because of the holy month of Ramadan, and because my clients are innocent, the authorities will show mercy and release Shawn Bauer and Josh Fattal in a few days," he said.
Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, ends this week. In the past, the judiciary has presented a list of convictions to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recommending he pardon the sentences.
Josh Fattal, Shawn Bauer and Sarah Shourd were seized on July 31, 2009, when they were hiking in the Iraqi Kurdish region and allegedly crossed into Iran illegally.
Shourd, Bauer's fiancee, was released last year for medical reasons, but the two men remained imprisoned in Iran. Shourd's case remains open.
Fattal and Shawn Bauer each received five years for espionage -- specifically "cooperating with the American intelligence service" -- and three years for illegal entry, state-run media reported.
The two men were not present when the Revolutionary Court handed down the sentence earlier this month, Shafiee said.
Iranian police said the Americans illegally entered Iran. The Tehran Prosecutor's office has "compelling evidence" that the three were cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies, state-run Press TV has reported.
Shourd has said the hikers did not know they had crossed the border while hiking.
Fattal and Bauer pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The three are graduates of the University of California at Berkeley.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-28/world/iran.us.hikers_1_josh-fattal-american-hikers-bauer-and-sarah-shourd?_s=PM:WORLD
-
We could put a lot more pressure on Iran. It's just wrong to lock those kids up for two years for trespassing.
LMAO... if these d-bags are stupid/naive enough to feel the need to hike on the border of a country run by a nutbag like ahmedijahad....
Well, hopefully 8 years of thinking about their idiocy will leave them a little wiser.
If they're not spies, they're the stupidest people in history and it's just Darwinism at work. beach, if you believed in Darwinism, you'd agree.
-
Must be a conspiracy? ::)
-
Must be a conspiracy? ::)
WTF are you talking about?
idiots trespassed in a nutjob's yard. Now they must deal with the consequences.
No conspiracy here. They give up their USA rights when they went to another country. perhaps they should have hiked in Montana instead.
Three less Obama votes in 2012... that's what's really troubling here.
-
I think they used holograms to fake their presence on the Iranian side of the border. Just like 911. It all makes sense.
-
I think they used holograms to fake their presence on the Iranian side of the border. Just like 911. It all makes sense.
what a silly statement for you to make.
-
If the government is sinister enough to fake the execution of Timothy McVeigh, attack members of Congress with anthrax, fire missiles into the Pentagon, and fake a plane crash (kidnapping, murdering, and disposing of the passengers), they would definitely use some Berkeley grads as spies posing as hikers. Yes, it all makes perfect sense.
-
If the government is sinister enough to fake the execution of Timothy McVeigh, attack members of Congress with anthrax, fire missiles into the Pentagon, and fake a plane crash (kidnapping, murdering, and disposing of the passengers), they would definitely use some Berkeley grads as spies posing as hikers. Yes, it all makes perfect sense.
Don't forget Marrisa Tomei really didn't win the Oscar.
-
pretty stupid spies, or pretty stupid hikers.
either way, they belong in jail. You dont' go to place like that unless you want to be subjected to their BS laws. I highly doubt the iranian scenery is all that awesome. WTF were they doing there?
-
Don't forget Marrisa Tomei really didn't win the Oscar.
:o Have not heard that one. lol
-
pretty stupid spies, or pretty stupid hikers.
either way, they belong in jail. You dont' go to place like that unless you want to be subjected to their BS laws. I highly doubt the iranian scenery is all that awesome. WTF were they doing there?
I am a hiker.
Pretty stupid Hikers.
Probably not spies, but maybe spies like us. lol
-
I am a hiker.
Pretty stupid Hikers.
Probably not spies, but maybe spies like us. lol
lol. Love that movie. :)
-
I am a hiker.
Do you ever wake up in the morning and say, "Wow, I bet the DMZ along North Korea would be an awesome place for a picnic today" ?
-
Do you ever wake up in the morning and say, "Wow, I bet the DMZ along North Korea would be an awesome place for a picnic today" ?
What could they be spying on that couldn't be gotten with a sat pic?
Aside from that, the DMZ and the Iraq/Iran border are 2 very different things. For hiking fanatics, hiking a place that's considered remote or not accessible is very tempting.
-
What could they be spying on that couldn't be gotten with a sat pic?
Aside from that, the DMZ and the Iraq/Iran border are 2 very different things. For hiking fanatics, hiking a place that's considered remote or not accessible is very tempting.
Agree. I'm a hiker too. This whole notion that they were spies is ridiculous.
-
Agree. I'm a hiker too. This whole notion that they were spies is ridiculous.
Correct. If anyone knows about the inner workings of international spying, it's people on getbig.
-
Correct. If anyone knows about the inner workings of international spying, it's people on getbig.
A lot of it just common sense and some of it is knowledge.
They could have been spies. Its just not likely.
-
WTF are you talking about?
idiots trespassed in a nutjob's yard. Now they must deal with the consequences.
No conspiracy here. They give up their USA rights when they went to another country. perhaps they should have hiked in Montana instead.
Three less Obama votes in 2012... that's what's really troubling here.
I can't believe he shook his CT finger at what you said.
Hiking on the border between Iraq an Iran? Sounds about as stupid as stupid can get. If someone told me that's where they were headed to hike, I'd seriously wonder how suicidal they are.
And BB is like, "must be a conspiracy" ::) what a dumbass lol...
-
Hiking on the border between Iraq an Iran? Sounds about as stupid as stupid can get. If someone told me that's where they were headed to hike, I'd seriously wonder how suicidal they are.
beach bum was able to completely rule out any possibility of these 3 "hikers" using the border to sneak into Iran.
He knows, of course, that the US newspapers would immediately identify them as spies. Since they said it was just harmless hikers, we know it to be true.
-
I can't believe he shook his CT finger at what you said.
Dude believes the earth is 6000 years old. Ask him. People riding around on T-rex's shooting non-Christians.
So I don't really stress it all that much.
-
BTW, I highly recommend The International Spy Museum in DC. One of the best exhibits in Washington.
-
BTW, I highly recommend The International Spy Museum in DC. One of the best exhibits in Washington.
http://www.spymuseum.org/
I didn't see a display for Iranian hikers.
-
http://www.spymuseum.org/
I didn't see a display for Iranian hikers.
It's the first exhibit. The one right next to the spy involved in the 93 WTC bombing.
-
It's the first exhibit. The one right next to the spy involved in the 93 WTC bombing.
???
-
Lol
-
:D
-
It's the first exhibit. The one right next to the spy involved in the 93 WTC bombing.
Does it cover these wonder facts in the exhibit? lol...
-
Does it cover these wonder facts in the exhibit? lol...
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vbIFA8snM5Y/SnF9n2WSs6I/AAAAAAAAAXI/UgBFT3ZEhZw/s320/Hansen+-+tin+foil+hat.jpg)
-
the only thing crazy is the fbi having the opportunity to substitute fake bomb materials and even leading informants involved to think the material being delivered was not real. This is stuff revealed in real tapes recorded between the fbi and the informant. Take the looney hat and put it on yourself buddy lol...
-
the only thing crazy is the fbi having the opportunity to substitute fake bomb materials and even leading informants involved to think the material being delivered was not real. This is stuff revealed in real tapes recorded between the fbi and the informant. Take the looney hat and put it on yourself buddy lol...
:-[ :-\
-
;)
-
beach bum is speaking on matters he hasn't researched.
can't really fault people for that.
We all spoke authoritively on the existence of santa claus at one point, right?
It happens to all of us from time to time.
-
Will be good to see the spies come home.
Iran says American hikers may be released in days
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 13, 2011
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- The families of two American hikers held in Iran for more than two years say they are "overjoyed" at reports they may be released within days.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer will be released from Tehran's Evin prison after a $500,000 bail is paid for each of them, their attorney, Masoud Shafiee, said Tuesday. Bauer and Fattal could be released "in a couple of days," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told NBC in an interview that aired Tuesday.
"While we do not have further details at this time, we are overjoyed by the positive news reports from Iran," their families said in a statement released through a spokeswoman.
"Shane and Josh's freedom means more to us than anything, and it's a huge relief to read that they are going to be released. We're grateful to everyone who has supported us and looking forward to our reunion with Shane and Josh. We hope to say more when they are finally back in our arms."
Shafiee said the hikers' families are attempting to raise the bail money for the two men, who were seized on July 31, 2009, while hiking in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
Fattal, Bauer and a third hiker, Sarah Shourd, were arrested after apparently straying across an unmarked border between Iraq and Iran. Iranian authorities arrested them, claiming they were spies and had entered the country illegally. Shourd, who is now Bauer's fiancee, was released last year for medical reasons, although authorities said her case remains open.
Ahmadinejad told NBC that Fattal and Bauer are enjoying "very good conditions here in prison ... it's like staying in a hotel."
"They illegally crossed our borders, and they were arrested by the border guards," he said. "We tried last year to free one of the three persons, and we are also trying to make arrangements for the freedom of the other two. I think these two persons will be freed in a couple of days."
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. government was "encouraged" by the Iranian statements, "But I'm not going to comment further than that.
"We obviously hope that we will see a positive outcome from what appears to be a decision by the government," Clinton said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said American officials were trying to get more details through Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran.
Other senior State Department officials said they are proceeding cautiously, as Iran has made similar claims in the past. However, one official said, "It seems to be true."
Ahmadinejad suggested in the interview that there is a need for the United States to release Iranians held in its jails.
"It's not only about two people in Iran ... I think the problem is in the approach of the American politicians and leaders," Ahmadinejad told NBC. The United States, he said, is "so hostile against us."
"OK, these two persons will be released," he said. "Is it going to be over? We do it, for example, in (a) humanitarian gesture. Is it going to solve the problems? I hope so."
Fattal and Bauer have an appeal of their sentence pending. But the Tehran prosecutor's office has said it had "compelling evidence" that the three were cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies, Iran's state-run Press TV reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/09/13/iran.hikers.release/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
-
Fuck these douchebags. Dumbass morons got themselves into this mess, now they want people to donate so they can raise 500K each. GMAFB.
-
Fuck these douchebags. Dumbass morons got themselves into this mess, now they want people to donate so they can raise 500K each. GMAFB.
hahahaha
"Harold, I was thinking we should spend our summer break hiking. Either Montana or the Riaq/Iran border. What say you?"
-
hahahaha
"Harold, I was thinking we should spend our summer break hiking. Either Montana or the Riaq/Iran border. What say you?"
Uh, you do realize these 3 idiots were living in Syria at the time?
Oh wait, that's right. The CIA recruited 3 pasty white douchebags and dumped them in a remote mountain region with no equipment in an effort to gather useful intelligence on Iran. Yep, that makes sooo much more sense. ::)
-
Uh, you do realize these 3 idiots were living in Syria at the time?
Oh wait, that's right. The CIA recruited 3 pasty white douchebags and dumped them in a remote mountain region with no equipment in an effort to gather useful intelligence on Iran. Yep, that makes sooo much more sense. ::)
Didn't you know the CIA, the organization built around people who don't exist and whose number one goal is to make their operators and assets blend in, decided it would be a brilliant move to drop off three Americans who stick out like sore thumbs?
Fuck, tinfoil hatters are stupid.
Some dipshit Asian student from UCLA took a one-way flight to Libya and hooked up with the rebels because he thought it would be a cool story (was in the LA Times last week). CIA plant or just a retard?
-
Uh, you do realize these 3 idiots were living in Syria at the time?
Oh wait, that's right. The CIA recruited 3 pasty white douchebags and dumped them in a remote mountain region with no equipment in an effort to gather useful intelligence on Iran. Yep, that makes sooo much more sense. ::)
Isn't Syria usually on the state departments list of countries Americans shouldn't travel to? Living in syria sounds stupid enough. That they jumped from stupid to suicidally stupid doesn't help their case much lol... If they were not spies, they were dumb as all hell.
-
Isn't Syria usually on the state departments list of countries Americans shouldn't travel to? Living in syria sounds stupid enough. That they jumped from stupid to suicidally stupid doesn't help their case much lol... If they were not spies, they were dumb as all hell.
They're Berkeley grad students so a far-leftist lack of common sense seems to be a given.
-
Didn't you know the CIA, the organization built around people who don't exist and whose number one goal is to make their operators and assets blend in, decided it would be a brilliant move to drop off three Americans who stick out like sore thumbs?
Fuck, tinfoil hatters are stupid.
Some dipshit Asian student from UCLA took a one-way flight to Libya and hooked up with the rebels because he thought it would be a cool story (was in the LA Times last week). CIA plant or just a retard?
The guy who had his head disgustingly cut off is another example. Hell, he was offered a return flight by the military, passed, and decided to wander around the area. He must've been one of the CIA's better trained guys.
-
Uh, you do realize these 3 idiots were living in Syria at the time?
Oh wait, that's right. The CIA recruited 3 pasty white douchebags and dumped them in a remote mountain region with no equipment in an effort to gather useful intelligence on Iran. Yep, that makes sooo much more sense. ::)
:)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lmYI1R5GnbI/TCqaZuDGvcI/AAAAAAAAArQ/DfH7oyuO8Qw/s1600/18854331.jpg)
-
Isn't Syria usually on the state departments list of countries Americans shouldn't travel to? Living in syria sounds stupid enough. That they jumped from stupid to suicidally stupid doesn't help their case much lol... If they were not spies, they were dumb as all hell.
I wouldn't know, but I doubt it. In fact it wasn't even until the beginning of last month that the State Dept. issued a warning for Americans to get out of the country.
-
I wouldn't know, but I doubt it. In fact it wasn't even until the beginning of last month that the State Dept. issued a warning for Americans to get out of the country.
whatever the context of what they were doing before or where they were, hiking on the Iraq/Iran border still sounds dumb as all hell to me.
-
whatever the context of what they were doing before or where they were, hiking on the Iraq/Iran border still sounds dumb as all hell to me.
Couldn't agree more. That's why I say fuck'em, let them find their own 500K each to get out of this mess.
-
I saw this video a while back, this reporter goes into the mountains between Iraq and Iran. This is a little north from where the hikers were last seen. But holy shit, looking at this it's hard to imagine how anyone would want to wonder even close to this area without a really important reason. From the video, Iran randomly shells this area and the people she talks to openly talk about how they sneek into Iran to spy and commit terrorist acts in Iran.
-
hahhahahahhahahahhaha
even dumber than these hikers are the ones who defend their actions
-
Wow, you get caught on the iraq Iran border and you get 8 years, you get caught on our border and you get a job and benefits.
-
Wow, you get caught on the iraq Iran border and you get 8 years, you get caught on our border and you get a job and benefits.
and your illegal ass anchor baby kids get financial aid for college - Thanks Rick Perry!
-
It is surprising that Iraq is helping secure the release of the American spy (kids), given that we stole Iraq's oil and all.
Iraq Joins Talks on Iran Bail for Jailed Americans
Published September 15, 2011
Associated Press
In this May 21, 2010 file photo, American hikers Shane Bauer, left, Josh Fattal, center, and Sarah Shourd are shown in Tehran.
Arab countries Oman and Iraq are involved in negotiations for the release of two Americans jailed in Iran for spying.
A private plane from the Gulf state of Oman has been dispatched to Tehran and an Iraqi official says a delegation of lawmakers is in the Iranian capital amid intensified efforts to seal a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.
They were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. She was released last September with mediation by Oman.
Their defense lawyer says talks are under way, but there is no timetable on a possible release.
The Iraqi official spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the issue.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/15/iraq-joins-talks-on-iran-bail-for-jailed-americans/?test=latestnews
-
It is surprising that Iraq is helping secure the release of the American spy (kids), given that we stole Iraq's oil and all.
They come up with that 1 million dollar ransom, I mean bail, I'm guessing things will start moving along a lot quicker.
-
They come up with that 1 million dollar ransom, I mean bail, I'm guessing things will start moving along a lot quicker.
Yep. Money talks.
-
The spies are coming home. Very painful lesson for those kids.
I'm sure they will bring a treasure trove of intel from this mission. I expect a full report on Iran's nuclear program.
Live blog: Hikers on their way to Oman, official says
September 21st, 2011
[Updated at 10:44 a.m. ET] The government of Oman says American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been turned over to the custody of Omani officials and are on their way to the Arabian sultanate.
"You can state officially now that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has handled Shane and Josh to the custody of Dr. Salem Al Ismaily, the envoy of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultan of Oman, a country that enjoys excellent relationships with both the IRI and the USA. Dr. Al Ismaily with the hikers are now on their way to Muscat where they will spend a couple of days before heading home,” a statement from Oman's envoy in Iran said.
Officials said the hikers are waiting at an Iranian airport for their flight to Oman.
[Updated at 10:08 a.m. ET] Two American hikers have been turned over to the custody of an Omani official, a senior U.S. official tells CNN.
[Updated at 9:58 a.m. ET] Two Omani cars that entered the Evin Prison to pick up the two American hikers have left with a police escort as well as cars carrying people from the Swiss embassy, CNN's Shirzad Bozogmehr reported.
Bozogmehr reported that it is believed the hikers are in that convoy, though nobody was able to see them inside the car.
[Updated at 9:19 a.m. ET] It's likely that two American hikers being released from an Iranian prison will to go to a third country, possibly Oman, upon their release, CNN's Zain Verjee reports. One official told CNN that Oman was on alert to pick up the two Americans and the families have been there for a while. They would likely get medical checkups in Oman and get back to the U.S. as soon as possible, Verjee reported.
[Updated at 9:09 a.m. ET] Masoud Shafiee, lawyer for American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, says outside Tehran's Evin Prison, "In four or five minutes they will be released."
"As soon as they are in the car hopefully we can get a word out of them before we leave," the lawyer said. He could not confirm where the hikers would go upon their release.
[Updated at 8:55a.m. ET] American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have not yet been seen leaving Tehran's Evin Prison, but their attorney, Masoud Shafiee, went into the facility earlier in the day with paperwork to show that the $500,000 bail had been paid for each of them.
[Updated at 8:37 a.m. ET] Iran's state-run Press TV reports that American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been released.
Press TV reported the following on its website: "Branch 36 of Tehran's Appeals Court has agreed to commuted the detention sentences of the two US nationals to release on a bail of USD500,000, a statement released by Iran's Judiciary said on Wednesday."
[Updated at 7:45 a.m. ET] American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were freed from prison in Iran on Wednesday, a U.S. official said, more than two years after they were arrested as spies.
[Updated at 7:21 a.m. ET] The attorney for the U.S. hikers has entered Tehran’s Evin prison, from which the hikers are expected to be released today. The lawyer entered the main building accompanied by officials from the Swiss and Omani embassies. Oman has helped in negotiations to free the hikers.
[Updated at 6:21 a.m. ET] Swiss Ambassador in Iran Livia Leu Agosti told CNN she had not been officially informed of the pending release of two U.S. hikers, but would undertake all duties normally handled by American officials in such circumstances. Switzerland handles United States interests in Tehran because there is no American embassy there.
[Updated at 5:27 a.m. ET] Iran's semi-official FARS news agency says the two American hikers will be handed over to officials from the Swiss Embassy at 3 p.m. local (6:30 a.m. ET) Wednesday.
[Updated at 5:15 a.m. ET] A lawyer for two Americans imprisoned as spies in Iran for more than two years expects to start paperwork for their release Wednesday, he told CNN.
A second judge signed bail paperwork for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, Masoud Shafiee said, leaving only minor banking details to be sorted out.
Fattal and Bauer were arrested along with a third hiker, Sarah Shourd, in July 2009 after apparently straying over an unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran. Shourd was freed earlier on medical grounds.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/2nd-iranian-judge-signs-off-on-hiker-release-attorney-says/?hpt=hp_t1
-
;D
-
The spies are coming home. Very painful lesson for those kids.
I'm sure they will bring a treasure trove of intel from this mission. I expect a full report on Iran's nuclear program.
:D
haha...how can this be? Surely the Iranians would never let important CIA spooks like this just go free for a measley million dollars.
Uh oh, could there be a conspiracy behind the conspiracy?
The plot thickens...
-
The agents were turned. ;D
-
Double agents? :o
-
Welcome home. Next stop: enshrinement in the International Spy Museum Hall of Fame:
Iran hikers arrive in the United States
By the CNN Wire Staff
(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/110924070512-iran-hikers-return-story-top.jpg)
Josh Fattal, center, Shane Bauer and his fiancée Sarah Shourd wait Saturday in Oman before flying home.
(CNN) -- A pair of American hikers who spent two years in prison in Iran returned to the United States on Sunday.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly before 11 a.m. They had been held in Iran as accused spies since July 2009, after they apparently strayed over an unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.
The crew of their U.S.-bound flight moved them to the front of the aircraft before landing, allowing them to get off the plane first. Fattal had a big grin on his face as he moved forward.
Iranian authorities released Fattal and Bauer on Wednesday. They first were flown to Oman, where they enjoyed several days of freedom after their lengthy captivity.
The two are expected to hold a news conference Sunday afternoon. In their prepared remarks, Fattal and Bauer are expected to be frank about their experience and conditions in Iran.
Fattal and Bauer, both 29, say they accidentally crossed into Iran when they veered off a dirt road while hiking near a tourist site in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. They appealed their eight-year sentences while serving time in prison.
A third American seized with them, Sarah Shourd, was freed on medical grounds almost exactly a year ago. Shourd and Bauer became officially engaged Friday.
In statements before leaving Oman's capital Muscat, Bauer and Fattal thanked Omani officials for their hospitality and assistance in securing their release.
"Just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the calm waters of the Gulf," Fattal said. "We stayed up all night with our loved ones and watched the most beautiful sunrise we have ever seen. These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives."
Fattal and Bauer were released a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address to the United Nations. Shourd's release came a week before Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations last year.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/25/us/us-iran-hikers/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
-
theylost a lot of mass in there. they won't place at the regional level. pathetic skinny fat.
-
Happy ending.
U.S. hikers who were held in Iran marry in California
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:30 PM EDT, Mon May 7, 2012
(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/110923092938-treated-hikers-engaged-bauer-shroud-story-top.jpg)
Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, hikers who had been held by Iran, were formally engaged in Oman last September.
(CNN) -- Two American hikers held in Iran and accused of spying after straying across the unmarked border there have been married in California, an attorney said.
Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer married Saturday near the ocean, surrounded by some 200 family and friends, Ben Rosenfeld, a San Francisco attorney, said in a statement.
"Friends and family assumed roles at their wedding, in the same spirit of community which suffuses Sarah and Shane's everyday lives, and which characterized the tireless broad support they received throughout their ordeal. Friends traveled from around the globe to be present. The group danced outside under the amorous cross-rays of Venus and a 'supermoon,'" he said.
Shourd, Bauer and a third hiker -- Josh Fattal -- were arrested after straying across the unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran in July 2009.
Bauer proposed during their time in prison, fashioning an engagement ring from a thread of one of his shirts.
Shourd was released in 2010, and Bauer and Fattal were freed last year after 781 days in captivity and a trial for espionage that Bauer said was based on "ridiculous lies."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/us/iran-hikers-married/index.html
-
We could put a lot more pressure on Iran. It's just wrong to lock those kids up for two years for trespassing.
Let me get this straight:
You think it's wrong to imprison someone for 2 yrs who has actually committed a crime,
...but you have no problem with imprisoning someone indefinitely,
...without even charging them with a crime, let alone obtaining any type of conviction?
-
Let me get this straight:
You think it's wrong to imprison someone for 2 yrs who has actually committed a crime,
...but you have no problem with imprisoning someone indefinitely,
...without even charging them with a crime, let alone obtaining any type of conviction?
What the heck are you talking about?
-
lol @ "hiking in iran".
WTF. Dumbest people in history.
-
What the heck are you talking about?
Weren't you the one who used to always saw that you thought nothing wrong in indefinite detention of suspected terrorists? if I'm wrong, and it wasn't you, my apologies, but I'm pretty certain you used to advocate there was nothing wrong with such a stance because it "didn't apply to US citizens". I thought that such a stance juxtaposed to your comment about 2 yrs for trespassing being wrong was a tad hypocritical.
-
Oh 240, ...that is just wrong!!! (still I can't stop laughing)
Wait til PETA gets their hands on you. :P
-
REPORT: Iran Is Turning US Mosques Into 'Terror Command Centers' On American Soil
TBI ^ | %-7-2012 | Eloise Lee
Posted on May 7, 2012 1:32:03 PM EDT by blam
REPORT: Iran Is Turning US Mosques Into 'Terror Command Centers' On American Soil
Eloise Lee
May 7, 2012, 11:57 AM
An example of a mosque in New York City
Iranian military units are looking to bolster Islamic extremism in the U.S. by turning local mosques into "terror command centers," reports a senior fellow at EMPact America and former CIA operative, who goes by the alias Reza Kahlili.
Kahlili reports how the plan is being rolled out by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its unit of Quds Forces, which are responsible for managing Iranian-backed terror networks around the world:
[The groups] have created two special units to undermine the regimes in the Persian Gulf and push America out of the region.
The Guards are using Imam Ali mosques around the globe, including some in the U.S., as terror command centers.
Unit 110 and Unit of Madinah – named after the second holiest city in Islam, the burial place of the Prophet Mohammad – were established to remove the U.S from the Gulf, sources report.
We learned Kahlili's expertise is based on his experiences as a retired CIA agent planted in Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Using a pseudonym to protect his identity, he wrote the 2010 book A Time to Betray, which is used by the Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy in Maryland, where he is also an instructor.
His report today, informed by an ex-intelligence officer who defected to a country in Europe, reveals mosques around the world bearing the holy name Imam Ali are "under the operation of the Guards’ intelligence office":
Noteworthy are the ones in Stockholm and Hamburg. Other mosques are in New Jersey, New York and Ohio, the former officer said.
Iran's relative isolation from the rest of the world, coupled with economic sanctions
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
-
Weren't you the one who used to always saw that you thought nothing wrong in indefinite detention of suspected terrorists? if I'm wrong, and it wasn't you, my apologies, but I'm pretty certain you used to advocate there was nothing wrong with such a stance because it "didn't apply to US citizens". I thought that such a stance juxtaposed to your comment about 2 yrs for trespassing being wrong was a tad hypocritical.
Wrong. Apology accepted.