Iran jails American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal for eight years

Both men were arrested in July 2009 after they crossed into Iran from Iraq An Iranian court has sentenced two Americans accused of spying to eight years in jail, Iran’s state-run television has reported. Sources from Iran’s judiciary told the news channel IRINN that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have each received three years for illegally entering Iran and further five years each for espionage for the US intelligence services. The channel said they have 20 days to appeal the verdict. Fattal and Shane Bauer were arrested in July 2009 after they crossed into Iran from Iraq. Sarah Shourd, who was detained with them but returned to the US after being freed on bail last year, has said the trio were innocent hikers who traversed an unmarked border into Iran by mistake. The case has further aggravated tensions between Iran and the US already strained over Iran’s nuclear programme. The US accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says it is enriching uranium for electricity only. United States Iran Middle East Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.