In 2009, 3 people hiked within the area composed of Turkey, Iraq and Iran called Kurdistan. The majority of people who reside there are the Kurds. That is how it got its name. Iranian authorities took all hikers into custody and accused them of espionage and of being spies. Authorities keep changing their minds by originally saying they’d release one, then not, and then really did release a hiker, Sarah Shourd. A $500,000 request for her release was made. Of course the U.S. said no way. One of the hikers that is nevertheless in custody is her fiancé.
Using a hike to secretly spy
All three captured hikers, Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, work in the Middle East. Bauer is the one Shourd is engaged to. Kurdistan was the choice they made to escape at because southern parts of Iraq, it is one of the most free. A village in Iraq Kurdistan, Zalem, is where they ran into Iranian national police. The Nation explains that is where they were detained. Though the border is not easily identified, locals in the area claim that Iranian forces regularly enter Iraq, where they lack jurisdiction.
One hiker freed
The United States of America government said no when the Iranian government announced it wanted $500,000 for the release of Shourd. The Iranian government changed its mind right after. The, says CNN, Sarah Shourd was announced to be released on bail as a result of health reasons. You will find no relations between Washington and Tehran. Also, ever since the 1979, the Swiss have acted as liaison. Supposedly, a bank account in Oman is where the bail came from. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal remain in Iranian custody.
No way to prove there was espionage
Sources said that the hikers did not cross into the Iranian border ever. Apparently the Iranian police and intelligence encounter the line all the time to detain people. This comes from those who live in the area. The case should only take a few minutes. Any judge can do a trespassing charge in about 10 minutes. It appears like the only reason the government would keep the people detained would be for political reasons.
The Nation
thenation.com/article/36562/us-hikers-were-seized-iraq?page=,
CNN
cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/14/iran.detained.american/
