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The Iranian lawyer representing two American hikers who have been detained in prison for nearly two years describes the two as hostages who had become “playthings” for Iran
The lawyer, Masoud Shafii, said he had not been allowed to meet with the men - Joshua F. Fattal 29, and Shane M. Bauer <28 - since he was hired to represent them in late 2009.
Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal were detained in July 2009 by Iranian border troops as they hiked with Mr. Bauer’s fiancée, Sarah E. Shourd <32, in the mountainous Kurdish region of Iraq, which borders Iran.
All three were charged with espionage and illegally crossing the border; Ms. Shourd was released on bail in September 2010 and has said she does not intend to return to Tehran for trial.
It was not clear exactly where the two men’s cases stand in the Iranian judicial process. This week, IRNA, the official Iranian news agency, quoted Tehran’s chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, as saying that a verdict could be handed down between June 22 and July 22. But other announced court dates have come and gone with no explanation.
Responding to questions by e-mail, Mr. Shafii said on Thursday that the spying charges were groundless.
“There is no legal reason my clients should be detained in prison,” Mr. Shafii wrote. “There is no espionage or illegal entry evidence against my clients. This case is political, and unfortunately my clients have been held hostage, and they have become playthings for the government. From a political view, however, my clients should not even be held even one more day, as this detainment is hurting the reputation of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Mr. Shafii said Mr. Fattal and Mr. Bauer had already been imprisoned longer than the maximum sentence under Iranian law for illegal entry into the country, which is one year. Many defendants facing that charge are simply fined or deported, he said.
“Even if my clients were charged with a crime, my clients should have already been released on bail and have had their case resolved, as Iranian law does not allow anyone to be detained in prison longer than the maximum sentencing of their accused crime,” Mr. Shafii wrote in the e-mail.
The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations. Representatives of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the Iranian Interests Section, the country’s unofficial presence in Washington, did not return calls seeking comment.
On Thursday, a senior State Department official said the United States was working through the Swiss government to win the two men’s release on humanitarian grounds.
“This has gone on far too long without any semblance of due process,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as per diplomatic rules.
The official said that the State Department did not consider Mr. Fattal and Mr. Bauer to be hostages, and that Washington “had been very careful” to avoid calling the men’s continuing detainment a political issue.
The official also said that although the Swiss had been “very energetic” as intermediaries, they had been permitted to visit the men only three times, most recently on Oct. 26, 2010. Their families say they have become increasingly concerned about their condition and treatment.
Ms. Shourd said the men shared a 10-by-14-foot cell and were kept apart from other inmates at Evin Prison in Tehran. They are allowed out for about 40 minutes a day to exercise, and are blindfolded by guards when they walk to and from their cell.
Ms. Shourd said that at one point during their imprisonment a guard slammed the back of Mr. Bauer’s head against a wall “10 or 15 times.” Family members say that over the 23 months that Mr. Fattal and Mr. Bauer have been held, the men have been allowed to make three telephone calls, each lasting fewer than four minutes. One of the calls came last month.
In it, Mr. Bauer said that he and Mr. Fattal had recently been on a hunger strike for 17 days, seeking the right to receive mail from relatives and friends, according to Cindy Hickey, Mr. Bauer’s mother.
“We’re kind of at the bottom,” Ms. Hickey said. “We’re very fearful for them”.
Mr. Fattal’s mother, Laura Fattal, said the frequent court delays were like “a knife in my heart”.
Mr. Shafii, the lawyer, said that Iran’s suggestion several months ago that the hikers might be released as part of an exchange of detainees was further evidence that they were being held for political rather than legal reasons.
“Asking for a prison swap indicates that they are holding hostages, and this is against the Iranian people, who are against holding hostages and who do not want their national reputation marred,” Mr. Shafii wrote.
Ms. Shourd said that when Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad, was in New York for a United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, he met with her briefly and told her he knew that she and the two men were not spies.
“He said: ‘I know. I know you’re good kids,’ ” Ms. Shourd said.
وکيل مي‌گويند دو مرد آمريکايي در ايران اسير هستند
مسعود شفيعي وکيل دو کوهنورد آمريکابي که نزديک به دو سال در زندان هستند، اين دو را به‌عنوان گروگانهاي بازيچه دست ايران توصيف کرد.
مسعود شفيعي، وکيل ايراني گفت، از زمان وکالت اين دو در اواخر 2009، هنوز به وي اجازه ملاقات با موکلين خود، جاشوعا فتال (joshua fattal)، و شين بائر (shane bauer) داده نشده است. …
آقاي شفيعي نوشت، “هيچ دليل قانوني براي زنداني شدن موکلين من وجود ندارد. هيچ توطئه يا شواهدي دال بر ورود غيرقانوني آنها به کشور وجود ندارد. اين يک پرونده سياسي است، و متأسفانه موکلين من قرباني و بازيچه دست دولت ايران شده‌اند.
حتي از ديدگاه سياسي، موکلين من يک روز هم نبايستي بازداشت مي‌شدند، زيرا اين به اعتبار جمهوري اسلامي ايران لطمه مي‌زند“. …
آقاي شفيعي نوشت، “وقتي در خواست معاوضه براي يک زنداني مي‌شود، مويد اين مي‌شود آنها در اسارت قرار گرفته‌اند. و اين بر خلاف مردم [خواسته] مردم ايران است که مخالف گروگانگيري هستند و نمي‌خواهند بر اعتبار ملي‌شان آسيب ببيند.
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