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Mother Jones Contributor Shane Bauer Charged With Spying
Mother Jones contributor Shane Bauer, who has been detained in Iran since late July after accidentally crossing the border while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan, has been charged with espionage. Bauer and his two companions, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal, who were also charged, face the death penalty if convicted.
The families of the three detained hikers held vigils yesterday, November 8, to recognize the hikers' 100th day in detention. Last Monday, Shon Meckfessel, a travelling companion of Bauer, Shourd, and Fattal who was sick the day of their hike, wrote an open letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asking for their release.
Ahmadinejad has suggested that he might consider releasing the three hikers in some sort of swap. Reuters explains:
Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the American television network NBC in September that the Americans' release might be linked to the release of Iranian diplomats he said were being held by U.S. troops in Iraq.
We will keep you posted on any further developments.
I certainly wish all three
I certainly wish all three the best and hope they get out soon, but the story you're telling me doesn't sound right.
All they were doing was "hiking" in Iraqi Kurdistan when they "accidentally" crossed the border.
So when I go hiking, it's for the fresh air, the scenery, the wildlife and the gorp. When someone says, "oh yeah, the border is some random line somewhere around there and if you cross it, chances are the dictatorship will make an example of you", well, usually when that occurs, I pick a different place for my hike. Or I take maybe, five GPS systems and a couple of local guides.
Regardless of how stupid you think we are, and need us to be, I do hope all three get out soon.
By the way, I assume from your headline you couldn't give a fuck about the two companions.
Wow. Apparently you haven't
Wow. Apparently you haven't been following this story very closely-- either that or you are just full of uninformed opinions. Go back and read some of the other articles regarding this incident before you spout off. (The "hikers" were traveling in a well-known tourist area suggested to them by the locals)
It is unfortunate that this story isn't getting coverage via mass media outlets -- and also that so many people are so quick to pass judgement on these young people's vacation choice, and subsequent hiking mistake that has changed their lives and the lives of their families/friends forever. My thoughts are with them and their families.
"Apparently you haven't been
"Apparently you haven't been following this story very closely-- either that or you are just full of uninformed opinions."
There is no need, for that to be an "either", I could very well not follow that story closely AND be full of uninformed opinions.
But you're telling me I shouldn't pass judgment on their vacation choice? You're kidding me right? Oh, no, I mustn't pass judgment on their notion of hiking alongside but never crossing over the Iranian border. Why am I blaming the victim!!!?!
Fine, I won't pass judgment then. Their choice. Kena hora! We mustn't wound their self-esteem or keep others from deciding to take the same hiking trail.
Can we do like France and some American States and bill them for the costs of their (hoped for) rescue?
As much as this story tugs
As much as this story tugs at the old heartstrings, it does seem a little fishy. One wouldn't have to be real sophisticated to guess that hiking in that area is playing with fire in a fireworks factory. And it doesn't seem to me that it requires much imagination to guess that the Iranians might be a little suspicious of US motives and the lengths the US is willing to go to to achieve them.
I'm not sayin' I think the hikers were spies, but I certainly can see how the Iranian Government would think they might be.
And before Americans waste too much lather over this, we should think about what happens to people who arouse suspicion in the US. A group of Iranian hikers with an American who'd spent year in Iran, just over the line from Canada? They'd still be in jail and still nobody would even know whether they were alive or dead. There's a good chance they'd already been tortured.
bravo!
I absolutely could not agree more. Thank you for saying what really needs to be said in a world where propaganda replaces truth.
Again, Bravo!