World luminaries urge Iran to release American detainees

Nobel Peace laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire, along with prominent American scholar, Noam Chomsky, issued a joint statement urging Iran to release the two detained Americans, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer.

Noam Chomsky, Mairead Maguire & Desmund Tutu

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were arrested in summer of 2009 in Iran-Iraq border regions, along with their companion, Sarah Shourd, who was recently released on humanitarian grounds due to health issues.

The three American detainees: Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd, and Shane Bauer
www.freethehikers.org

Tutu, Maguire and Chomsky write: "We urgently appeal to the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal without further delay and show the same compassion to them that the Iranian authorities graciously extended to their companion Sarah Shourd." They add:" We are profoundly saddened that Shane and Josh have been detained for 15 months and deeply concerned that they now face a trial on charges that bear no relation to the facts and are unsupported by any credible evidence."

The three activists stress that the two Americans had no ill intentions regarding Iran and are victims of political tensions between the US and the Islamic Republic.

They conclude that releasing the two Americans would be perceived as another humanitarian step by Iran drawing the respect and admiration of the public.

On Monday Iran's prosecutor, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei announced that the trial of the three Americans was further postponed. He added that Sarah Shourd is going to be called on to attend the trial.

Previously the trial was to take place on November 15.

The Islamic Republic has brought charges of espionage against the three Americans but the detainees maintain that they were on a hiking trip in the Iraq's mountainous regions and strayed into Iranian territory by accident.

... Payvand News - 11/03/10 ... --