Iran has announced that "as an act of clemency" they are releasing one of the three U.S. hikers who were imprisoned last year to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Iran's envoy to the U.N. has confirmed this statement.
Iran claims that the three hikers illegally crossed the Iranian border from Iraq's Kurdish Mountains. However, the hikers' families are saying that if they did cross the border, it was completely unintentional.
The hiker to be released is the female, Sarah Shourd, whose mother, according to a CBS News article, is saying told her that she has found a breast lump, among other health problems when she saw her daughter recently in a highly publicized visit. Shourd's boyfriend, who is one of the other detainees, is Shane Bauer, who was a journalist for Mother Jones.
The thoughts that pop up in my mind are these:
-Was this an innocent hike, or did they have another purpose for hiking in a region the U.S. has warnings out about? Bauer is a journalist. It could just be a miscalculation in step, or it could be he was trying to be a hot shot reporter, or it could be they were taken from the Iraqi side of the border.
-This release isn't about clemency so much as scoring points with the international community. Yes, they usually release prisoners at the end of Ramadan, but when Iranian president Ahmadinejad has proposed swapping one of the hikers for an Iranian prisoner in the U.S., why would he all the sudden decide to change his mind and release one without an exchange? They are releasing Shourd, who has a medical condition. They don't want her blood on their hands. That's not good press.
Iran to Release One of the Detained U.S. Hikers - NY Times
CBS News Article
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