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3 Americans who hiked into Iran will face trial

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | December 14, 2009 at 08:49 am

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Iran plans to put three American hikers who illegally entered the country on trial, according to Iran's Foreign MinisterManouchehr Mottaki .

According to Iranian officials , the three U.S. citizens “illegally entered Iran with suspicious aims " and their interrogation is continuing.

“They will be put on trial by the judiciary and rulings will be made,” Mottaki has said, according to ILNA.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were on a hiking trip when they mistakenly crossed into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan on July 31, U.S. officials say.
On Nov. 9, state-run Press TV said they had been charged with spying. An espionage trial may stir more tension with the U.S., which -- along with its allies -- is in a dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear program. In Iran, a conviction for spying may be punished by execution.

In recent years, the Persian Gulf country has taken a more lenient approach to people accused of entering its territory illegally.

Iran sparked a crisis in 2007 when it seized and held 15 U.K. sailors and marines for two weeks for allegedly trespassing into Iranian waters. Two years earlier, Iran jailed a Frenchman and a German citizen who had strayed into Iranian waters during a fishing trip. Sentenced to 18 months in jail, they were released in 2007 after being granted clemency by Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Dec. 2, Iran freed five British yachtsmen who were seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Nov. 25 after their boat accidentally crossed into Iranian waters while sailing to Dubai from Bahrain in the Persian Gulf to take part in a race.

[. . . ]

American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was freed from prison in Tehran on May 11 after an eight-year sentence for allegedly spying for the U.S. was reduced to a suspended two- year term by an appeal court. President Barack Obama and Saberi dismissed the spying accusation. She was released after spending three months in detention.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 15:11 on December 14th, 2009

This announcement, in all likelihood, was made to fend off upcoming proposed sanctions by the U.S.

Babel-Fish

at 16:35 on December 14th, 2009

If you go hiking near the border of Iran one should make sure you have a good map and compass then really be skilled in map reading or a very good guide. The main question is are these guys insane, who would take such a chance, completely idiotic.

Now its become an international incident and of course Iran will use the situation for their benefit at a guess they will declare these idiots innocent and send them home. A show of we don't prosecute innocent people and our legal system is just. I hope that's the case even though they a damn stupid and seemingly dumb. That is if the are not spies?

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 17:04 on December 14th, 2009

This has nothing to do with whether or not Obama has negotiating skills, this has everything to do with Iran emancipating themselves.

Let's face it, this is a similar game played by North Korea with the two journalists. In that case they were happy they could shake hands with a former President.

The US is pushing for sanctions against Tehran, claiming it wants to develop nuclear weapons. According to a Kremlin official, hitting Iran now with sanctions over its nuclear work could drive it “away from the civilized world,” in a hint of strong Russian opposition to punitive steps backed by the US. China has said that it still wants major world powers to negotiate with Iran even after it ignored a 31 August deadline, set by the UN Security Council, to stop uranium enrichment.