Jailed US hikers finally get day in Iran court
It's been two years since the arrest of three American hikers in Iran. On the anniversary of their capture, the two hikers still in custody are scheduled to appear back in court.
Exactly two years to the day of their capture, the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal is finally set to begin tomorrow morning in Tehran.
The pair has been in prison since 2009, "Early Show on Saturday Morning" co-anchor Rebecca Jarvis reported. Bauer had been hiking along the unmarked Iraq-Iran border with his fiance, Sarah Shourd, and friend Fattal, when they were arrested and charged with spying.
Shourd was released on bail last September and returned to the U.S.
Bauer and Fattal have not been seen since February, when they last appeared in court.
Their frustrating ordeal has been highlighted by a series of courtroom postponements, most recently in May. The long road to justice has been especially hard for the families, who have worked tirelessly for two years to help free their loved ones.
On "The Early Show," Sarah Shourd and Josh's mother and brother, Laura and Alex Fattal, discussed their ongoing ordeal.
Shourd said they've heard there's hope that a final decision will be made in the case.
"This has been a very long time in coming," she said. "The first time that we heard from our investigators that we were going to court was over 22 months ago, so Shane and Josh and the rest of us have been waiting and hoping for this for a long time."
Laura Fattal said they're all hopeful that their release will come soon.
"This entire almost second year of detention has been about waiting for the court hearing," she said.
Alex Fattal added, "The only thing that this detention is accomplishing is it's breaking our hearts and breaking the hearts of people all around the world. We had a rally here in New York just yesterday, well over 100 people there, people flying in from different parts of the country, and the kind of solidarity here and internationally is really overwhelming, for the secretary-general of the United Nations, to Muhammad Ali, Desmond Tutu, the world is waiting to celebrate Shane and Josh's freedom, they'll walk in the courtroom in a few hours, given the time difference, in a few hours, we pray they walk out free men."
Shourd said the family and Bauer and Fattal are experiencing the same feelings.
"Every day the anxiety and the tension increases, but also our hope is increasing every day," she said. "I was shown compassion and released. It was clear, the chief of human rights stated that it was - the judiciary was convinced that I was incapable of espionage. That was almost 11 months ago, and we pray that the time for compassion for Shane and Josh is very near."