Iran 'jails' US hikers for eight years for spying

Iran 'jails' US hikers for eight years for spying

www.bbc.co.uk

Iranian state TV's website said Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal each received three years for illegally entering Iran and five years for spying.

The two men deny the charges, saying they unknowingly crossed into the country while hiking in July 2009.

Their fellow hiker Sarah Shourd was released on bail last September.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow. I don't know why this surprises me. It is sure to be followed by a flurry of diplomatic posturing, maybe even some saber-rattling.

I don't think the US is going to take kindly to Iran jailing two US citizens on charges of spying. I get the impression Iran is doing it to assert its territorial integrity and send a message to the West to back off.

www.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well those hikers are either the stupidest people on earth... or they are spies.

You decide. But Iran apparently thinks nobody is that stupid.

They probably are spies.

The girl probably wasn't.

Seems like a light sentence though.

Originally posted by againuntodust
They probably are spies.

The girl probably wasn't.

Seems like a light sentence though.

I agree. There spies on nearly every mountain pass and trail in the US each and every day! Just a few days ago, I saw a bunch of kids disguised as boy scouts... and knew for a fact their were spies.

We need Iran to arrest these types and toss them in the dungeon before the world is overrun!

reply to post by againuntodust


right, imagine what we, the western world, do&did to Bradley Manning, all the gitmo-people or the still ongoing trouble with assange...

reply to post by Icarus Rising


Sounds like spies to me..

US citizens hiking through Iraq and stumble into Iran during a war...der..

If they aren't spies they should be locked up for a few years for sheer stupidity.

The US would do the same if Iranians where taking pictures of anything in America too.

reply to post by JennaDarling

Originally posted by JennaDarling

The US would do the same if Iranians where taking pictures of anything in America too.

My guess is you could see an example of Iranians taking pictures in America right now....

Try the Grand Canyon....Or Yosemite....Or New York City....The list goes on....

Your statement wasn't very well thought out.....

I don't think these kids are stupid OR spies....They're just the modern day version of hippies....They assumed since they weren't doing anything wrong, and weren't hurting anyone, that they couldn't get in trouble....They took the "We're harmless hippies" stance and paid for it, just like hippies always have....

The proverbial "Hippie Laid In Front Of Car"....

Their only fault is wanting to be free, and not understanding that this isn't possible in today's world....

Sounds like spy business to me.
Your mission : Casually walk into Iran and get arrested, you will be accused of espionage and we will have more of an excuse to enter into war and further agenda. You will be integrated and questioned endlessly, use the social engineering that you were taught to reverse question and gain Intel from the inside, after a time we will deal you out and A.R.R. at that point. Good Luck!

Saw it in a James Bond movie once.

Iran clearly wants to send a message, and they did.
I'm interested in seeing how the U.S. responds, if at all.
Sorry guys, eight years is hard, at least it isn't worse. I hope something can be done for them

Originally posted by OneEleven
reply to post by JennaDarling

 

Originally posted by JennaDarling

The US would do the same if Iranians where taking pictures of anything in America too.

My guess is you could see an example of Iranians taking pictures in America right now....

Try the Grand Canyon....Or Yosemite....Or New York City....The list goes on....

Your statement wasn't very well thought out.....




I don't think these kids are stupid OR spies....They're just the modern day version of hippies....They assumed since they weren't doing anything wrong, and weren't hurting anyone, that they couldn't get in trouble....They took the "We're harmless hippies" stance and paid for it, just like hippies always have....

The proverbial "Hippie Laid In Front Of Car"....

Their only fault is wanting to be free, and not understanding that this isn't possible in today's world....

Then again America isn't "really" in any danger from Iran like Iran is from the U.S..
The passing comment of violence from Iran VS the constant rhetoric from the U.S. that says, "We're coming, We're coming, We're coming, We're coming, We're coming." It is understandable when they are in a pinch to suspect a hippie of being a spy if they are American or British, or Israeli.

Judging by the fact Iran has had a couple of its top nuclear scientists unlawfully assassinated, I'd say this makes them even.

Those hikers were definitely spies or they were extremely stupid.

They must be spies. They're lucky they aint being executed.

Probably extremely stupid, according to the rest of the world, to be annoyingly sarcastic and accusative, Americans are apparently... mentally challenged, slow, stupid, ignorant.. (I think everyone gets it so I'll stop there)

I wonder if Canadians and Mexicans get arrested for spying...hmm no. We just confiscate their dope and send them right back on across with a message to try again.

hey amigos, subir de nuevo a la frontera y traer la droga un poco más para que podamos salir en las noticias!

They come right on back and we make headlines, so you see, it works a little different in the US. 3 years for crossing and 8 years for "spying?" Iran, you just self-killed tourism, not to mention your hippy population

Originally posted by JennaDarling

The US would do the same if Iranians where taking pictures of anything in America too.

We had Amadinejad himself over to the US to speak......

Plus people from Iran LIVE here.....

What would suck though is if those folks were actually just hiking and Iran just jailed them out of paranoia.
I'd feel bad for the hikers and hikers families in that case.

Then again, having foreigners in your jail might make someone think they have some sort of leverage... time will tell.

Maybe Iran like the rest of the world just doesn't like hippies.
............That's a valid argument.............

OK for those that think these 3 are not spies ...

1/ All 3 speak fluent Arabic

2/ All are well educated

3/All are well traveled

Shane Bauer

A freelance journalist and photographer, after graduating he specialised in reporting on the Middle East and North Africa, where he spent much of his time. He is a Middle East correspondent for New America Media (NAM) and his work has been published widely.

Sarah Shourd

A teacher, writer and women's rights activist, she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area after graduating from university until she moved to Damascus to live with Shane Bauer. While in Syria, she worked for the Iraqi Student Project, a programme which seeks to make it possible for Iraqis to study at US universities.

Josh Fattal

From January to June 2009, Mr Fattal was a teaching assistant on the International Honors Program (IHP) Health and Community programme, which took him to Switzerland, India, China, and South Africa. At the end of the semester, he travelled in Europe with his brother, who was conducting research in Sweden. He travelled to Damascus in the summer of 2009 for a brief reunion with Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd.

There is a lot more to these 3 then your all led to believe ,you are very naive if you think they are just hippies who can't read a map and compass.

Those dudes are spies. That's the nature of the business. Suck it up and deal with it.

Next time, think twice before doing the dirtywork of a corrupt entity.