The Tehran prosecutor told Iran’s official IRNA news agency that Iranian officials were pursuing espionage charges against the Americans, who were detained in late July after trekking through the Kurdistan region of Iraq and toward the Iranian border. News of the spying accusations drew a quick rebuke from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who reiterated calls for the Iranians to release the hikers, Shane M. Bauer of Emeryville, Calif.; Joshua F. Fattal of Cottage Grove, Ore.; and Sarah E. Shourd of Oakland, Calif.
“We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever,” she told reporters in Berlin, according to The Associated Press. “And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them so they can return home.”
It was unclear whether Iran had formally filed legal action against the hikers, or whether prosecutors were merely leveling accusations for public consumption. The Persian word used by the chief prosecutor who discussed the case can mean either “charged” or “accused” in English.
Nevertheless, the specter of three American tourists on trial in Iran could add more strain to relations between Iran the United States at a time when the countries are engaged in fraught negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and it raises questions about whether Iran will try to use the captured Americans as a bargaining chip in those talks. Earlier this year, the case of Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist arrested in Tehran, drew international attention and sparked accusations that the Iranian government was trying to use one woman’s arrest to gain leverage with the United States.
Ms. Saberi, a freelance journalist who had lived in Iran since 2003, was arrested in January and sentenced to eight years prison on charges of espionage and working without press credentials. But the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wrote a letter urging an appeals court to be fair as it reviewed her case, and she was released in May, a month before Iran’s disputed presidential elections.
The United States has been pursuing the release of the American hikers through Swiss diplomats who represent American interests in Tehran. The United States severed diplomatic ties with Iran after the 1979 takeover of its embassy in Tehran.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/world/middleeast/10hikers.html
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- current89
- added this
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Who in their right mind would go hiking near or on the Iran/Iraq border? Either these guys were looking for trouble and enjoyed flirting with danger or they live in noddy land. I suspect the latter.
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What in the hell are we doing in that guys country anyway , thats like asking for it DAMN now what ?
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This is the interview with the lucky fourth hiker and his call out to Iran and the US to get these hikers their freedom.
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Does this situation remind you of, I don't know, say... two current journalists? Yes, it's pretty nuts to go hiking in such a volatile region, but they must have had a reason. I just hope Bill Clinton will come through for them, too.
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ProTip: Don't hike near the border of Iran.
For a list of safe places to hike, consult the internet.
Carry a GPS device, a compass, and a map to avoid any uncertainty regarding your whereabouts.
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What exactly are they spying? Mountains? Maybe some secret nuclear tree the Iranians are working on? Top secret goat herding techniques?
If anything they are guilty of being dumbasses, just like the 2 current "reporters".
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- int_massEntropy
- 11 days ago
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Maybe they were just looking for guerilla groups to give arms and money to so they keep fighting Iran. Can't think why anyone would be hiking there.
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...the magnificent panorama...for goats...
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"You, american with camera. You a spying infidel. We kill you!"
i am guessing the arresting official said something like that
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Stop hiking in Iran!
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- extracrazykiwi2008
- 11 days ago
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What f-ing morons... have they been in a hole for the past 8+ years?
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These folks are getting just what they wanted. I say leave them there.
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ok so, why Iran? Why not Colorado? Why not California? Kilimanjaro? Fuji? Swiss Alps? Why not anywhere else in the world? Thanks for giving our govt. more to worry about... idiots.
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- Atalanda_Cameron
- 11 days ago
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Who in their rite minds would go "hiking"in a country that we are at war with and it's neighbor Iran. I think there is something very fishy going on. I just wonder who would do something so stupid.
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- LadybugLady
- 11 days ago
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It amazes me at what people will do for fifteen minutes of fame. What kind of dumb ass goes to that part of the world with out a G.P.S.? Hey! I know them folks that were tresspassing should just become citazins of iran. They wanted to get a closer look at them folks so they just need to move over there.
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Just as a reminder guys, that border is disputed. The terrain is so shitty they can't really decide where the line is. So a map wouldn't be much help. No expressway markers announcing where you've just arrived. (Hell the goats couldn't read it anyway)
But I concur. Hiking in a war zone doesn't strike me as the smartest thing one could do. And the war zone side of the border was the friendly side. People on the other side don't care much for us. At least their govt. doesn't.
We have enough youth. How about a fountain of smart?
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- cabinettags
- 11 days ago
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They should be forced to pay any expenses incurred by the government in trying to negotiate their release.
