Iran Allows Swiss Diplomats To Visit Detained U.S. Hikers

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GENEVA, Switzerland – Iranian officials allowed Swiss diplomats access to the three American hikers that are currently being detained in Iran. The meeting between the captive Americans and Swiss envoys took place on September 29. The goal of the meeting was for the Swiss to see the exact condition under which the American hikers are being held. The Swiss government represents the United States’ interests in Iran as the U.S. and the Islamic Republic do not have formal diplomatic relations.

The three hikers currently being held are Joshua Fattal, 27, Shane Bauer, 27 and Sarah Shourd, 31. The three Americans went missing on July 31 after setting out on a hike in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The group came to Iraq from Northern Turkey, planning on a five day hike. The three were supposed to be joined by a fourth individual, Shon Meckfessel, who did not go on the hike. Meckfessel claims that his friends were not aware that they were near the Iranian border and that they had made “a simple and regrettable mistake.”

Iranian authorities have charged the three Americans with illegally entering the country. The mothers of the hikers wrote a letter the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. In their letters, they asked the country’s leader to bring the Americans with him when he came to New York for his address to the United Nation’s General Assembly.

President Ahmedinejad addressed the issue and said the actions of the hikers constituted an “illegal entry” that was clearly a crime. He also emphasized his lack of control over the Iranian judicial process. President Ahmedinejad did say that he would possibly be willing to ask to the judiciary to expedite their process and ask that they rule with leniency. However, an Iranian lawmaker indicated that hikers’ entry into the country could have been related to the contested June 12 election and that the country will look for the “real reason” why the hikers entered.

The U.S. State Department indicated that they were looking forward to hearing from the Swiss as to how the hikers were being treated. The White House has declared that they will not let the hikers’ detainment conflate with discussion regarding Iran’s nuclear program. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained that, “there isn’t any connection and there shouldn’t be. The hikers should be released.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Swiss Granted Access to Americans in Iran – 29 September 2009

AP – Iran Will Allow Swiss Access to Detained Americans – 29 September 2009

BBC – Iran Allows Visit To U.S. Detainees – 29 September 2009

CNN – Iran to Let Swiss Officials Visit 3 Detained U.S. Hikers – 29 September 2009

Reuters – Swiss Confirm Visit to U.S. Hikers Held in Iran – 29 September 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive