Clinton: No evidence against three detained in Iran
- 00:01:03
- ITN
Clinton: No evidence against three detained in Iran
Iran has charged three detained US citizens with espionage which, under Iran's Islamic sharia law, is punishable by death. The three were held after they strayed into Iran from northern Iraq at the end of July. "We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on a visit to Berlin on Monday. The three, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, crossed into Iran from Iraq after, their families say, straying across the border accidentally. "The three are charged with espionage. Investigations continue into the three detained Americans in Iran," Tehran general prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told IRNA. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the American television network NBC in September that the Americans' release might be linked to the release of Iranian diplomats he said were being held by US troops in Iraq. The United States has sent strong messages to Iran urging the release of the three hikers, calling Iranian authorities to exercise "compassion" towards them. Some Iranian authorities have linked the illegal entry of the Americans to unrest that erupted after Iran's June presidential election.
ITN | November 9, 2009
