Iran to Hold Second Hearing for U.S. Nationals on May 11
Iran will hold a second hearing for three Americans charged with espionage and illegal entry into Iran on May 11, the head of the Tehran province judiciary Alireza Avaei said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were detained alongside Sarah Shourd in July 2009 for illegally crossing into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan. The U.S. government has said the trio mistakenly wandered across the border during a hiking trip.
Shourd, who was released in September 2010 on bail of $500,000, leaving the country immediately, had been summoned to return for the trial’s first hearing, which was held on Feb. 6. All three, including Shourd who was tried in absentia, entered pleas of not guilty, their Iranian lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said at the time.
The continued detention of the two men is another point of contention between Iran and the U.S., which accuses the Persian Gulf country of seeking to build atomic weapons under cover of its nuclear program. Iran rejects the claim and says it needs the technology to secure energy for its growing population.
Shourd used to live with Bauer in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where she learned Arabic and taught English, according to freethehikers.org. Bauer, 28, is a freelance journalist and photographer, while Fattal, 28, is an environmentalist who was visiting Damascus before they headed to Iraq, according to the website.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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