SAN FRANCISCO - Six months after Iranian authorities arrested three United
States citizens who crossed the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq, Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has said that Iran could be willing to exchange
them for Iranians imprisoned in the United States.
In an interview with Iran's state television, Ahmadinejad said, "We are having
talks to have an exchange if it is possible."
He did not specify any Iranian prisoners by name. But he added that the United
States has "abducted" Iranian citizens from other countries and even "pressured
other countries to arrest many of our citizens".
The US State Department quickly dismissed the overture. "We're not interested
in a swap per se," State Department spokesman
Philip Crowley told reporters on Wednesday. "We are interested in resolving the
cases of our citizens."
On
July 31,
2009, Sarah Shourd (31), Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal (both 27) were hiking near
the Ahmed Awa waterfall in Iraqi Kurdistan when, news reports say, they
mistakenly crossed the unmarked border into Iran. They have been detained since
and have had no contact with their families. Bauer and Fattal have both worked
as freelance journalists in the region, while Shourd is an aspiring journalist,
teacher and women's rights advocate.
Last November, five British citizens whose yacht had drifted into Iranian
waters were detained but released after a week. Three young Belgians who were
on vacation in Iran were also detained for three months, then released on bail
into the care of the Belgian embassy and allowed to leave Iran in late
December.
But the three US citizens have been in detention for six months without access
to their families or their Iranian lawyer, Masoud Shafie, who accepted the case
on behalf of their families in December.
Ahmadinejad's remarks regarding a possible exchange did not come as a
particular surprise.
On January 7, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Iran's Parliamentary Commission
on National Security and Foreign Policy, implied that the continued detention
of the three Americans was retaliation for the arrests of five Iranian
diplomats by US forces in 2007 in a raid of Iran's consulate in Irbil, northern
Iraq.
"The US violated the Vienna Conventions and international regulations by
arresting Iranian diplomats and keeping them in prison for a long time," Mehr
news agency quoted Boroujerdi as saying. "So the US should not rush for the
release of the three hikers."
The attorney for the three US citizens told Inter Press Service that his
efforts to gain access to his clients have failed and nobody in authority
appears willing to do anything for the case.
"My clients have been disconnected from the outside world for more than six
months. They should be able to call their parents and lawyers," Shafie said in
a telephone interview from Tehran. "The judiciary should hold a trial
immediately, and if the investigation is not over yet, the authorities should
release them on bail and let them stay at the Swiss Embassy - the United
States' interests section in Tehran."
Shafie said the authorities have told him that the investigation is not over
and hence he would not be able to see his clients. Over the past two months,
judiciary officials have announced several times that the hikers would be tried
soon, but they have not set any date.
Last month, Tehran's prosecutor granted Shafie permission to visit his clients
in prison. Shafie says he has not been able to exercise this permission due to
the judiciary's bureaucracy and lack of political will.
"I have permission from the prosecutor, but the employees at his office
postpone this visit over and over again. They act rudely and have not allowed
me to read the cases and understand the charges against them, which is
necessary in order for me to be able to write my defense bill," said Shafie.
"These individuals' families are seriously concerned about them, and they have
no idea what is happening to them in prison."
Ahmadinejad's offer indicates that the Iranian government is using the three US
citizens as bargaining chips in its hostile relations with the United States.
"Ahmadinejad's remarks are disappointing as they show the executive branch is
interfering in the judiciary's business," Shafie said. "If they are innocent,
they should be released, and if their investigation shows otherwise, they
should be tried in a fair and free trial."
Meanwhile, the families of the three detainees feel caught up in a political
struggle they have little to do with.
"I'm in shock that we have not even received one single phone call," Alex
Fattal, the brother of Josh Fattal, told IPS. "My brother and his friends are
now into their seventh month of detention and the total amount of time they
have had contact with the outside world is about an hour.
"The psychological pressure is really inhumane. We have heard that this is in
the hands of the judiciary and a trial is coming for many months now, but still
nothing. They have not been allowed to see their lawyer. Who knows what
psychological state they will be in if they are put on trial?"
Human-rights groups have repeatedly asked the Iranian government to provide
more information on the case, to no avail.
"The three hikers are innocent victims who have been caught in Iran's turmoil,"
Hadi Ghaemi, coordinator of the International Campaign for Human Rights in
Iran, told IPS. "There has been no concrete information about the exact charges
against them and they have been deprived all contact with their family or
lawyer. They are hostages in the hands of the Iranian government, which refuses
to be transparent about these cases."
Last Christmas, the families of the trio tried to reach out to Iran's Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with a recorded video message requesting the
release of their children on humanitarian grounds. The Iranian authorities
failed to respond.
Other relatives of the detainees say their frustration is overwhelming.
"I feel devastated and helpless about the detainment of my son Shane and his
companions, Sarah and Josh," Cindy Hickey, the mother of Shane Bauer, told IPS.
"We have heard over and over again that this will be handled quickly by the
judiciary and follow the rule of law, but still we wait with no movement in the
case.
"They have had no counselor access through the Swiss for more then three months
and no access to their lawyer, and we have no proof that our children are
okay," said Hickey.
"I hope our case is not being confused with world issues and that it is being
treated as a separate humanitarian matter and I hope that the Iranian
authorities will take this wall down for us and allow our children to come home
so we can continue our lives together," she said.
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