Shane Bauer

On July 31, 2009, three Americans, Joshua Fattal (27), Sarah Shourd (32), and Shane Bauer (28) were taken into custody by Iranian border guards for crossing into Iran while hiking near the Iranian border in Iraqi Kurdistan.

At the time of their detention by Iranian troops, the three Americans were on vacation from their jobs in the region in a relatively stable, autonomous region of Iraq known as Iraqi Kurdistan. On the recommendations of locals, they hiked to see a popular local Iraqi tourist destination near the Iraq-Iran border, the Ahmed Awa waterfall.

Following the hikers' capture on the Iraqi-Iranian border, a wide range of outside voices, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and the human rights group Amnesty International, had called for the hikers' unconditional release.

Iran subsequently claimed the three were spies but was never able to offer any evidence to support its contention.

Sarah Shourd was released 14 months later on "humanitarian grounds". Fattal and Bauer were convicted of "illegal entry" and "espionage" two years after their arrest and each sentenced to eight years in prison, but were released on September 21, 2011. Each of the detainees was released after payment of 5 billion rial (about US$465,000) bail was arranged by the Sultan of Oman.

Joshua "Josh" Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, graduated from UC Berkeley, worked as co-director of an environmental education center at Aprovecho in Oregon and travelled to Switzerland, India, China, and South Africa from January to May 2009 on a fellowship with the International Honors Program (IHP)'s "Health and Community" study abroad program. Fattal and Bauer were friends from their days at the University of California at Berkeley.

Shortly after the release of the hikers, it was revealed that Jacob Fattal, the father of Joshua Fattal, is an Israeli expatriate living in the United States. To avoid revealing the fact that Josh's father is an Israeli citizen, and that half his family are Israelis, Josh's mother and brother, Alex Fattal, spearheaded the campaign for his release and his father avoided the media. Fattal had been to Israel on a few family visits. The last time Fattal was in Israel was 2007 for two weeks for his cousin's wedding.

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Wikipedia