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Iran Court Sets Second Hearing for Held Americans, Lawyer Says

Iran Materials 7 February 2011 14:32 (UTC +04:00)
The Iranian Revolutionary Court trying three Americans charged with espionage and illegal entry into Iran scheduled a second hearing for the case, their lawyer Masoud Shafiei said.
Iran Court Sets Second Hearing for Held Americans, Lawyer Says

The Iranian Revolutionary Court trying three Americans charged with espionage and illegal entry into Iran scheduled a second hearing for the case, their lawyer Masoud Shafiei said, Bloomberg reported.

The trial opened yesterday and the next session will be held "in the near future," though a date hasn't been specified, Shafiei said in a phone interview in Tehran today. "It was my belief that the trial should end on the first day," he said.

Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd are being charged with espionage and entering the country illegally, after they were detained in July 2009. The U.S. government has said the trio mistakenly wandered across the border during a hiking trip in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Bauer and Fattal were present at the session and were in "good spirit" Shafiei said. Shourd, who was released in September 2010 on bail of $500,000, leaving the country immediately, was also represented by Shafiei and tried in absentia. All three entered pleas of not guilty, Shafiei said.

The detentions have increased tension between Iran and the U.S., which accuses the Persian Gulf country of seeking to build atomic weapons under cover of its nuclear program. Iran rejects the allegation.

Shourd used to live with Bauer in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where she learned Arabic and taught English, according to freethehikers.org. Bauer, 28, is a freelance journalist and photographer, while Fattal, 28, is an environmentalist who was visiting Damascus before they headed to Iraq, according to the website.

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