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Wonderful, stupendous, long-overdue news if true.
TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told NBC News Tuesday that two Americans given eight-year prison sentences for spying and entering the country illegally will be released “in two days”.
Ahmadinejad made the remark about Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal in a one-on-one interview with Ann Curry that is due to be broadcast on NBC’s TODAY on Tuesday morning.
Corroboration from the Washington Post:
TEHRAN — Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he intends to grant a “unilateral pardon” to two Americans who have been jailed on charges of espionage for two years and release them this week.
“I am helping to arrange for their release in a couple of days so they will be able to return home,” Ahmadinejad tolD The Washington Post in an hour-long interview at his office here. “This is of course going to be a unilateral humanitarian gesture.”
And independent confirmation from other Iranian sources via CBS:
Iranian officials in Tehran confirm to CBS News that it is Ahmadinejad’s intention to free the hikers in the coming 48 hours.
UPDATE from WaPo:
The Americans, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were arrested along with another American while they were hiking along the Iran-Iraq border two years ago. In August, they were sentenced to eight years in prison. The other American, Sarah Shroud, was released in September 2010.
Asked if the release would definitely happen this week, Ahmadinejad said: “I hope so. I hope I will do that.” The president’s decisions are subject to review by clerical authorities in the Islamic republic.
20 Comments
I cannot imagine Ahmadinejad would announce this publicly to multiple American media were there any chance he might be humiliatingly overruled by the clerical authorities.
Joyous news! Rec’d.
Ah, good stuff. I wonder what went on behind the scenes to bring this about.
Interesting. I hope it happens & good luck to the 2 young men.
Just saying, though, I have always *wondered* why three younger US citizens *chose* to “hike” along the Iran-Iraq border. Even IF they’re not Secret Agency workers (and I wonder…), it seems like an incredibly poor choice of hiking spots, to say the least.
You were not the only one wondering about the same thing, especially when they were told by locals that they shouldn’t go that way.
This is such wonderful news! This morning they reported that each man would have to come up with a $500,000 bond. Has anyone heard if that is true?
Probably lot of diplomatic talk in the back ground convincing it is a trivial issue with couple of students unknowingly jumping the boundary.
This just shows more they talk more they realize how the other side is also part of humanity, have feelings just like they have for a better future and see how silly and short serving violent endeavors will be.
I really hope people in that region have lot more peaceful interaction on a weekly basis and soon all the issues brewing for hundreds of years will go away within our generation in few years itself for good and for ever.
I dunno, they were climbers … kind of a different breed. I know a guy who spent a couple months kidnapped by the FARC because he thought it would be a good idea to drive from the US down to some mountain or other that “looked awesome.”
Just saying, sometimes the whole “hey … maybe there might be people with guns who’ll seriously detain me for going to [cool place X].” never enters their minds, even when warned of possible danger.
Of course, there is reportedly an Iranian outpost on the mountain somewhere so it’s not exactly a non-strategic spot … but this kind of seems like an absurdly not-low-key way to gather intel on it if these guys had been working with some agency like the CIA.
Does anybody besides me think these guys MIGHT have been spies? Entire planet to take ahike and they chose THAT spot.
Evidently you don’t read comments preceeding your entry.
At the same time, intelligence services have committed keystone kop blunders before.
Yes, good news. Let’s hope it happens. Likely on the day the new Palestinian state is approved by the General Assembly.
If we needed scouts looking for what couldn’t be spotted with satellite photos or drones, anyone but putative american student hikers would’ve been killed.
Whether they were spies or not — and whether we ever find out the truth — their homecoming is a cause for joy and rejoicing. I cannot imagine what their families are going through today; let’s hope everything is smooth and uneventful for their eventual release, and soon.
be nice “Bear-Guy”, I too think something is fishy about these three.
Can anyone blame the Iranians for being paranoid when US Special forces, CIA goons and Mossad thugs have infiltrated their country?
Personally, I think Iran has taken way too much crap from us and Israel! Murdering their Scientist in cold blood in front of their children; planting a virus on their computers; funding known Sunni Terrorist groups inside of Iran; and let us not forget the over throw of Mosaddeq and the installation of the Shah! The war with Iraq that killed a million of their citizens; you think that they might have a right to be a little paranoid?
I wonder how we would have reacted if these two guys were “Water-Boarded” or mistreated and humiliated like we did to the people in Abu Ghraib?
I wasn’t dissing carguy, I was saying that if he had read the preceeding comments, he could have seen that several of us were quite suspicious of the hikers. I don’t blame Iran, they had no idea who these people were and really still don’t.
What exactly is so important in THAT spot? A border? Maybe another waterfall?
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that the captives will be released…..
Does anyone know when our Govt is going to release the 13-17yr old kids they took off the streets of Kandahar,Afghanistan under the guise of enemy combatants,and are holding ‘em at Guantanamo Bay ?
What are you, some kind of hippie or firebagger. You know that we can’t ask such questions of the ‘fierce advocate’ or his minions. It just isn’t done. Anyway, if they’re from Afghanistan, they probably took part in planning the attack on us. You know that Saddam Hussein could arm his drones to attack in 45 minutes and who could’ve known…. So you see you can’t ask those questions.
BearCountry:
Speaking of “questions that shall not be asked” The other night at the Republicanism debate Ron Paul asked “the big one!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8S3yws_88I
Paul stripped away all the Crap and exposed the vile evil things we have done to the people of the Middle East, yet still see ourselves as victims. Notice the reaction of the other politicians and the crowd; it’s like we are all part of this “dirty little secret.
Not a word about this from any TV or Radio station in the country; a complete news blackout on this subject?