Moms of detained US hikers again push for release

AP: The mothers of three Americans detained in Iran since last July are again pleading for their release as the one-year anniversary of their capture approaches.

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mothers of three Americans detained in Iran since last July are again pleading for their release as the one-year anniversary of their capture approaches.

The mothers of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal on Thursday released a letter they sent to the head of Iran’s judiciary. They call for an end to what they call the “unjust and arbitrary detention” of their children before the one-year anniversary of their capture on July 31.

Cindy Hickey, Nora Shourd and Laura Fattal argue that the continued detainment is harming Iran in the eyes of the world.

The three University of California at Berkeley graduates were captured last summer near the Iran-Iraq border. Their families say they were on an innocent hike but Iranian officials have accused them of spying for the U.S.