MEDIA COVERAGE
MOTHERS OF HIKERS ON CNN
Aug 22nd
MOTHERS OF HIKERS ON CNN WITH ANDERSON COOPER
Mothers talk to CNN’s Anderson Cooper:
Mothers of three American Hikers talk about their children, who are still being held in Iran. They have one simple plea: “Let our children go.”
See full story at CNN: Missing American Hikers: Mothers Plead for Safety of Their Children, Being Held in Iran
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FAMILIES HOPE FOR HIKERS' RELEASE
Aug 22nd
DETAINED US HIKERS: FAMILIES HOPE FOR RELEASE
Two Men, One Woman: Accused of Illegally Crossing Iranian Border:
Story by Good Morning America includes interview with family members of the three Americans held in Iran. Families say they were harmless and careful travelers who made an unfortunate mistake.
See full story at abcNEWS: Missing Hikers: Families Plead for Safety of Americans Held in Iran
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SIBLINGS: "HIKERS ARE HARMLESS"
Aug 21st
SIBLINGS SAY US HIKERS ARE HARMLESS TRAVELERS
Three American hikers detained in Iran are “totally harmless” travelers who carefully planned a trip in Iraq but apparently accidentally ended up crossing the border, their relatives said Thursday. (Aug. 20)
RENEWED REQUEST FROM STATE DEPT.
Aug 16th
Clinton calls on Iran to free detained Americans
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the press during a visit in Abuja, Nigeria on August 12, 2009
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton renewed calls Saturday for Iran to immediately release all US citizens held in the Islamic republic.
In a statement Clinton pointed to five cases: the three Americans who hiked into Iran from Iraq in late July; a US-Iranian scholar; and a private detective and former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007.
Washington “is deeply concerned about the welfare of our American citizens who have been detained or are missing in Iran,” Clinton said.
“We once again urge Iran’s leadership to quickly resolve all outstanding American citizen cases.”
The three Americans—Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd—went missing on July 31 after setting out on a hike from Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, on the poorly marked border with Iran.
Iran on Tuesday officially notified Washington about the arrest through Swiss channels, which represent US interests in Iran, but US officials say they do not know where they are being held.
“We once again call on the Iranian government to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention by granting consular access and releasing these three young Americans without further delay,” Clinton said.
She also mentioned the case of US scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, “who has spent his career working to enhance mutual understanding between Iran and the United States.”
Iranian authorities “should immediately release Mr. Tajbakhsh from detention and allow him to depart Iran to continue his academic pursuits,” she said.
Tajbakhsh was put on trial two weeks ago with around 100 Iranians on charges of rioting after the disputed re-election in June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Washington is also still “concerned about the case of Robert Levinson,” a former FBI agent who has been missing in Iran since March 9, 2007, Clinton said.
She called on Iran “to assist in providing any information on his whereabouts and in ensuring his prompt return to the United States.”
The US goal “is to ensure the safe return of all our missing or unjustly detained American citizens to the United States as quickly as possible so that they can be reunited with their families,” Clinton said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
NAM EXECUTIVE EDITOR ON SHANE BAUER
Aug 13th
Shane Bauer, a freelance writer with a passion for travel, planned to spend a week covering the Kurdish elections in Iraq when he checked with his employer last week. Bauer and two others were detained by Iranian authorities.
Interview with the Executive Director of New America Media, for whom Shane has freelanced in the past.
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THREE US HIKERS ARRESTED AT IRAN BORDER
Aug 3rd
THREE US HIKERS ARRESTED AT IRAN BORDER
Three American hikers are arrested in Iran after they crossed the border from the Kurdistan region in Iraq. NBC’s Richard Engel reports on the latest details from Istanbul, Turkey. (Today Show)
AMERICAN HIKERS HELD IN IRAN
Aug 3rd
