Iranian Prosecutor Calls for Trial of US Hikers
VOA News
15 September 2010
Iranian state media say an Iranian prosecutor has called for the trial of the three American hikers accused of spying in Iran to be held soon.
The state news agency IRNA says prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said the case files and indictments were sent on Wednesday to the court in charge of investigating the case against the Americans.
Dowlatabadi's remarks come a day after one of the three hikers, American Sarah Shourd, was freed on a $500,000 bail and allowed to leave Iran after more than a year in prison.
Shourd left behind fellow hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who remain in Iranian custody. Authorities arrested the trio in July 2009 after they crossed into Iran from northern Iraq, accusing them of spying and entering the country illegally. Family members say they crossed the border by accident.
The 32-year-old Shourd has remained out of the public eye since arriving in Oman and reuniting with her mother late Tuesday.
Dowlatabadi says Shourd's bail was paid to Iran's Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman's capital.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States did not pay for Shourd's release, but that an unnamed entity or individual "provided sufficient assurances" to Iran to secure her freedom.
In a statement to Press TV before leaving Iran, Shourd thanked Iranian President Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders for what she called "this humanitarian gesture." Shourd said she was "grateful" and "very humbled by this moment."
U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the news of Shourd's release. In a statement Tuesday, Mr. Obama said he is hopeful the Iranian government will also ensure the return of the remaining two hikers and other Americans missing or detained in Iran. Iranian authorities say Bauer and Fattal's detention will be extended for two more months.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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