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 (via • follow)
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 (via • follow)
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