A location composed of Turkey, Iraq and Iran called Kurdistan had 3 people hiking there in 2009. The title originated from the Kurds which is the majority of people who live there. The hikers were taken into custody by Iranian authorities and accused of being spies and carrying out espionage. Authorities keep changing their minds by initially saying they’d release one, then not, and then really did release a hiker, Shourd. A $500,000 request for her release was made. Of course the U.S. said no way. They didn’t release all of the backpackers though. One of them is her fiancé in there.
Why spy on a hike?
All backpackers worked within the Middle East before being captured. These are Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. Bauer is the one Shourd is engaged to. Kurdistan is known to be one of the most free part of the southern parts of Iraq when it comes to conflict. This is why they were vacationing there. The Nation reports that the backpackers ran into Iranian police and were detained right outside of Zalem, a village in Iraqi Kurdistan. It isn’t all that easy to figure out where the border really is. Locals, however, explain that it is common to see Iranian forces in Iraq.
One hiker released
The United States government said no when the Iranian government announced it wanted $500,000 for the release of Sarah Shourd. Days later, the Iranian government recanted. Then, it was announced that Sarah Shourd was being released, on bail, for health reasons, as outlined by CNN. Ever since the 1979 the Swiss are acting as liaison when Washington and Tehran have no relations. The bail was supposedly deposited into a bank account in Oman. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal remain in Iranian custody.
Espionage isn’t likely to be proven
Sources said that the hikers didn’t cross to the Iranian border ever. It has been said by numerous from the area that Iranian police and intelligence operatives cross the border to detain people consistently in the country. The case should only take a few minutes. Any judge can do a trespassing charge in about 10 minutes. Political motives are likely the case here. That would be the only reason to keep detaining the hikers.
The Nation
thenation.com/article/36562/us-hikers-were-seized-iraq?page=,
CNN
cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/14/iran.detained.american/
