Iran: US Hikers Sent To Jail

Iran has sentenced two U.S. hikers to eight years in prison for illegally entering the country and spying for an American intelligence agency.

“According to an informed source with the judiciary, Shane Bauer… and… Josh Fattal, the two detained American citizens, have been each sentenced to three years in prison for illegal entry to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” state television reported on its website on Saturday.

It added the two have been “sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage for the American intelligence agency.” According to the report, the two men have 20 days to appeal against the verdict. “The case of Sarah Shourd who has been freed on bail is still open,” the report said referring to the third hiker who is being tried in absentia.

According to AFP, the lawyer for the three Americans, Masoud Shafii conveyed he had not been informed of any decision since their trial ended on July 31.

Bauer and Fattal were arrested along with Shourd on the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq some two years ago.