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While hiking in mountainous Iraqi Kurdistan on July 31, 2009, three Americans – Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Joshua Fattal – were detained by Iranian border guards for alleged espionage. Ms. Shourd was released by Iran on Sept. 14, 2010 on $500,000 bail for 'humanitarian' reasons. Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal were released on Sept. 21. on $500,000 bail each. Zuma Press/Newscom/File
Before his detention in Iran, Shane Bauer had been living in Damascus, Syria with his girlfriend Sarah Shourd since late 2008. Fluent in Arabic, he is a freelance journalist and photographer. He grew up in Onamia, Minnesota and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies in 2007. UPI/Courtesy of the Shourd, Bauer and Fattal Families/Newscom/File
Sarah Shourd, shown here in Sanaa, Yemen, taught English and was learning Arabic in Syria before the hiking trip that led to her detention. Sarah has written articles on travel and social issues reflecting her time in Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Mexico. Ms. Shourd was released by Iran on Sept. 14, 2010 on $500,000 bail for health reasons. Newscom/FILE
Josh Fattal is an environmentalist educated in sustainable living skills and has studied abroad in Britain, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Mexico. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004 with a degree in environmental economics and policy from the College of Natural Resources. Mr. Fattal was visiting Ms. Shourd and Mr. Bauer in Damascus, Syria, when they went on their trip to Iraqi Kurdistan. UPI/Courtesy of the Shourd, Bauer and Fattal Families/File
Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd became engaged while in an Iranian prison, and plan to marry after Mr. Bauer is released. Fellow detained American Josh Fattal will be their best man. freethehikers.org/AP/File
This image made from a July 29, 2009, video released in October 2009 by Shon Meckfessel and the families of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal, shows (from l.): Mr. Fattal, Mr. Bauer, and Ms. Shourd dancing in an unfinished cinder block building in the Kurdish city of Arbil, Iraq. The families say the footage proves the three were simply on vacation and had no underhanded intentions. Shon Meckfessel/AP
Nora Shourd, mother of Sarah Shourd, is photographed in Berkeley, Calif., in November 2009. Jeff Chiu/AP/File
Friends of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal carry candles along Allston Way in Berkeley, Calif., in Dec. 2009, during a vigil for the three American hikers detained in Iran. D. Ross Cameron/Newscom/File
Prayer flags are placed on a heart-shaped altar in honor of the three hikers detained in Iran, in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2010. Newscom
Laura Fattal (r.), Nora Shourd (c.), and Cindy Hickey (l.), mothers of the US hikers detained in Iran, hold roses upon their arrival at the Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran on May 19, 2010. The mothers flew in to Tehran to visit their children for the first time; the three detainees had not been allowed to communicate with their families until May 2010. Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom/File
American hikers Shane Bauer (l.), Sarah Shourd (c.), and Josh Fattal sit at the Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran, Iran, on May 20. Press TV/AP/File
Detained US hiker Shane Bauer hugs his mother, Cindy Hickey, during their first meeting since his arrest, in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 20, 2010. Newscom/File
Cindy Hickey, mother of Shane Bauer (r.), Nora Shourd, mother of Sarah Shourd (c.), and Laura Fattal, mother of Josh Fattal (l.) hug their children at the Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2010. Press TV/AP/File
Sarah Shourd (l.) hugs her mother, Nora Shourd, as Shane Bauer hugs his mother, Cindy Hickey, during their meeting at the Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran, Iran, on May 20. Press TV/AP/File
Laura Fattal (l.), Cindy Hickey (c.), and Nora Shourd, mothers of three American hikers jailed in Iran, participate in a demonstration outside Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York on July 30, 2010. Richard Drew/AP
American hiker Sarah Shourd (c.), who was released on bail from an Iranian prison on September 14, 2010, is seen with her mother Nora and her uncle after giving a press conference in Muscat, Oman, prior to her departure home to the US on Sept. 18, 2010. Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Newscom/File
Sarah Shourd (c.) stands next to Cindy Hickey (l.), Shane Bauer's mother, and Laura Fattal, Josh Fattal's mother, as they hold pictures of their sons at a press conference in New York on Sept. 19, 2010, following Ms. Shourd's release on bail. The mothers said on May 19 that they went on hunger strike to protest their sons' continued detention. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom/File
Shane Bauer (l.) and Josh Fattal (c.) and their translator attend the first session of their trial at the revolutionary court in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 6. Reuters/Press TV/File
Family members and supporters of American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal rally and call for their release from Iranian Prison in New York on July 29. Dennis Van Tine/Abacausa.com/Newscom/File
Masoud Shaffi, the Iranian lawyer of the American hikers, speaks with the media on his phone at his office in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 21. Iran sentenced Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal to eight years in prison each for illegal entry and on espionage charges. Shaffi confirmed the verdict, but said he would appeal. On Sept. 13, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the two hikers will soon be released in a humanitarian gesture. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom/File
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