THE LAWYER for two US citizens convicted of spying in Iran said yesterday he would appeal their eight-year sentence, which shocked their families who had hoped to see them freed after more than two years already spent in Tehran’s most notorious jail.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested on the border with Iraq in 2009 where they said they were hiking. They were found guilty of illegal entry and espionage, a verdict likely to further strain Iran’s already poor relations with Washington.
“We have 20 days to appeal and I will try my best to use all legal means to annul the sentence,” lawyer Masoud Shafiee said. “It was my belief, and still is, that they are innocent and I have not seen any evidence that shows they are guilty.”
Mr Bauer (28) and Mr Fattal (29) share a cell in Tehran’s Evin prison. They pleaded not guilty at their closed-door trial which ended on July 31st.
“Josh and Shane were informed about the verdict yesterday,” Mr Shafiee said, adding that he had not seen them in person. The two years they had already served would count towards their eight-year sentences, he said.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed deep disappointment at the sentences. “We continue to call and work for their immediate release – it is time for them to return home and be reunited with their families,” she said.
The families of Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal made a similar plea. “We appeal to the authorities in Iran to show compassion and allow them to return home to our families without delay,” they said in a statement.
They were was arrested on July 31st, 2009, near Iran’s border with Iraq, along with Mr Bauer’s girlfriend, Sarah Shourd (32), who was released on $500,000 bail in September and returned home to California where she has been campaigning for their freedom.
Confirming a leaked report of the sentence, Tehran prosecutor-general Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said no verdict had yet been passed on Ms Shourd, who did not return to Iran to stand trial.
