Source:
www.freethehikers.org
Supporters Urged to Send Messages to the
Hikers to Help Ease Their Isolation in Evin Prison
Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd
The families of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and
Josh Fattal, the three American hikers detained in Iran, said today they are
increasingly concerned for their children's emotional wellbeing after nearly 16
weeks in custody and again called on the Iranian authorities to release them.
They also urged friends and supporters of the
three young Americans to send them messages of support to help ease their
isolation. The families have set up a special PO Box where messages can be sent
for onward delivery to Evin Prison in Tehran.
"Sarah, Shane and Josh are being well treated and
seem to be physically well, but we are more and more worried about their state
of mind," said Nora Shourd, the mother of Sarah Shourd. "Our children are
virtually cut off from the world outside their jail cells and have hardly any
contact with each other. Not being able to call us, and not knowing their fate,
must weigh on them ever more heavily as their detention drags on."
Bauer, 27, Shourd, 31, and Fattal, 27, were
detained on July 31, 2009 when news reports say they accidentally crossed the
unmarked border with Iran while hiking in a resort area of Iraqi Kurdistan.
"Shane, Sarah and Josh have been held without charge for almost four months.
Only last week, the prosecutor said their case would be decided in the 'not
distant future' but we've heard that before and nothing happens. It's high time
Iran put an end to this, showed compassion and let them come home," said Cindy
Hickey, Shane Bauer's mother.
Swiss diplomats who represent U.S. interests in
Iran have been allowed to visit the hikers only twice since their arrest. "We
know from the consular visits that our kids are aware of how hard people are
working to secure their release and they have received some letters," said Laura
Fattal, the mother of Josh Fattal. "It's vital for them to know they're getting
support and one way to do that is to send them messages. It also shows the
Iranian authorities that people care and won't let them be forgotten."
Messages to the hikers should be written on a
postcard and mailed in an envelope to Free The Hikers, PO Box 15065, Duluth, MN
55815, USA
For more information, please visit
www.freethehikers.org.
