Joshua Fattal and Shane
Bauer heading home. Thanks Mr. Chavez
By Associated Press
September 22
The
Iranian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the release of Joshua Fattal and Shane
Bauer was in large part due to the request and mediation efforts of President
Chavez
Iran’s release of US citizens Joshua
Fattal and Shane Bauer on Wednesday, September 21, made headlines worldwide,
but little details were initially provided regarding the reasons behind their
liberation. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has now publicly affirmed the release
of Fattal and Bauer was in response to requests made by Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez, along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of state
of Iraq and Oman.
The two US citizens were originally
detained on July 31, 2009, along with Sarah Shroud, after they were caught by
Iranian border guards who claimed they had entered Iranian territory without
authorization. The three young US citizens alleged they were hiking in Iraqi
Kurdistan, a touristy area for outdoor activities that borders Iran, and were
kidnapped by the Iranian security forces while on Iraqi territory.
They were immediately taken to Tehran
and jailed, accused of espionage and illegal entry into the country. After more
than a year in detention, Sarah Shroud was released on $500,000 bail last
September 14, 2010, on humanitarian grounds due to a health condition.
The trial against the three US
citizens began on February 6, 2011, without the presence of Shroud, who
remained in the US with her family, fighting for the release of her two
friends, one of whom, Shane, became her fiancée while in prison. On August 20,
2011, Bauer and Fattal were convicted of “illegal entry” and “espionage” by the
Iranian court and sentenced to a prison term of 8 years. Spying typically
carries a death sentence in Iran.
During the past few weeks, rumors
circulated regarding the imminent release of the two “US hikers”, as they’ve
been referred to by news media. Their lawyer in Iran, Masoud Shafiei, had announced to the press that despite their 8-year sentence,
they would soon be released.
In early September, Iranian President
Ahmadinejad affirmed that by unilateral humanitarian gesture, he would request
release of Bauer and Fattal, and on September 21, the two left the Iranian
prison, where they had been held for more than two years, to finally go home.
VENEZUELA’S
ROLE
While the US government failed to
facilitate in anyway the release of the three US hikers, Venezuela played a key
role. Soon after the initial detention of the hikers, an informal request was
made to President Hugo Chavez to intervene on behalf of the three US citizens,
based on Venezuela’s close ties with Iran.
Chavez, who formerly and
successfully mediated the release of several hostages held by the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2007-2008, including several US citizens,
agreed to get involved.
Over the past year and a half,
Venezuela has played a key role in mediating and negotiating the release of
Bauer and Fattal. Pleas were also made directly to President Chavez requesting
his involvement in the release of the hikers by US author Noam Chomsky and
anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, along with Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn and
other allies of Venezuela.
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans shaved their heads in solidarity with Chavez when his fell out due to chemo. Do you think any Americans would do this for Obama? Or Frenchmen for Sarkozy?
While Chavez made the request to
release Bauer and Fattal directly to President Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s Foreign
Ministry dealt with the details of the mediation process for their liberation.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a
statement a day after the release on Thursday, September 22, confirming the
important role Venezuelan President Chavez played in the release of Bauer and
Fattal.
According to Venezuelan officials, President Chavez’s involvement in mediating the release of Bauer and Fattal was a “pure, humanitarian gesture of solidarity”.“The statement said that after the completion of the judicial processing, the Islamic Republic of Iran released the other two on bail again due to Islamic kindness and affection and in order to show respect for the mediation efforts made by several world leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and top authorities of several friendly states like Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Omani King Sultan Qaboos as well as a number of religious figures, who have all requested their freedom”, reported FNA.
Once again, President Chavez has
played a major role in assuring the freedom of US citizens imprisoned for
different reasons around the world.
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