Iran 'jails' US hikers for eight years for spying

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14602835

Two US hikers accused of spying and illegally entering Iran have been jailed for eight years by a court in Tehran, reports say.

Iranian state TV's website said Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal each received three years for illegally entering Iran and five years for spying.

The two men deny the charges, saying they unknowingly crossed into the country while hiking in July 2009.

Their fellow hiker Sarah Shourd was released on bail last September.

[Orrex]

1. I haven't followed this story too closely, but who the hell hikes in Iraq?

[xchrom]

2. when the story first came out -- i wondered the same.

if you're not spying you're asking for some kind of trouble.

[Orrex]

4. Yeah, that's kind of been impression

I'm not one of those "they were asking for it" kind of people, but they must have been aware of the risks when they set out.

Heck, even if they weren't in danger of accidentally stumbling into Iran, I still find their choice of venue somewhat curious.

[malaise]

9. Bigger question

Would two Jamaican hikers crossing the US border from Mexico make the news after being sentenced?

[Orrex]

12. Great point.

I'm sure that we'd hear 24/7 coverage of such an international diplomatic crisis!

[WinkyDink]

3. Why is "jails" in quotation marks in the thread title?

[frogmarch]

5. Jails is in single quotes

in the article title. Maybe that's because it's a BBC article and Brits spell it gaol.

[frogmarch]

6. The word jails is in single quotes

in the article title. Maybe that's because it's a BBC article and jail is spelled gaol by Brits.

[inna]

7. you should ask BBC; it's not clear at all what they were implying by that (if anything).

:shrug:

[catabryna]

8. What I would like to know is why Shourd didn't return for trial...

was the money for bail, or was it a bribe?

I'm just glad that her friends weren't sentenced more harshly for her failure to return to Iran. Especially since one of these men was "supposedly" her fiance. What a lovely relationship, eh?

[inna]

10. why do you think they weren't? ("sentenced more harshly for her failure to return to Iran", that is)

just curious (unless you were being sarcastic!)

[catabryna]

11. That is true....

and I considered amending my post to reflect that, but didn't. We have no way of knowing whether they were judged more harshly or not. Either way, I find it rather disgusting. At the time she was "bailed" out, I sort of figured it was a bribe, but kept my mind open about the issue. Of course, it is now pretty clear that two men went to trial, but the woman skipped out.

I find it surprising that no one is discussing this particular aspect of the story.