Iran frees jailed US hiker 'spies' Bauer and Fattal

A pair of Americans convicted as spies and jailed in Iran for two years have been released and emotionally reunited with their loved ones.

The hikers' release has been negotiated against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Tehran

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were flown to Oman after being freed on bail from Evin prison.

They were sentenced in September to eight years in prison on charges of spying.

They were arrested in 2009 after crossing into Iran from Iraq, where they said they were hiking.

'Healthy and strong'
"We are so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," Mr Fattal said to reporters soon after their arrival on Wednesday in the Omani capital, Muscat.
Mr Bauer added: "Two years in prison is too long and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran."

Also waiting on the tarmac was Sarah Shourd, 32, a third US hiker who was with Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal when they were arrested.

Ms Shourd became engaged to Mr Bauer while they were in prison, before she was freed last year on humanitarian grounds and returned home.

Soon after he was reunited with his son, Mr Fattal's father told reporters: "They are healthy, happy and strong."

Iran's judiciary reportedly set each bail at five billion rials ($500,000). Oman paid bail of a similar amount for the release of Ms Shourd last year.

The Gulf state of Oman is a US ally which has good relations with Iran.

'Strayed accidentally'
Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal were taken from the prison as part of a convoy of Iranian, Swiss and Omani cars.

Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal have always maintained they strayed into Iran accidentally while walking in the poorly marked border region.

Speaking before news of the hikers' release, Mr Ahmadinejad said it was a humanitarian gesture

The trio were arrested in July 2009 after travelling to the Kurdistan region of Iraq for a week's holiday.

They were held by Iranian troops who told them they were in Iranian territory.

Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal were convicted in September of espionage and illegal entry. Ms Shourd pleaded not guilty in absentia, but did not return to stand trial, citing ill health.

Earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal would be released in days, but officials later denied any decision had been reached.

Their liberation came a day before Mr Ahmadinejad was expected in New York for a meeting of the UN General Assembly.


The case heightened tensions between the US and Iran.

US President Barack Obama said in a statement he was "very pleased" by their release.

"The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has won my admiration, and is now coming to an end with Josh and Shane back in their arms," he added.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed the Iranian authorities' decision to free the men.

Read more »

Deadly Yemen clashes as protester funerals held

(CNN) -- Opposition forces mourned their dead Wednesday, as 30 of the 83 protesters medical sources say were killed this week by government forces were buried.
Senior members of the opposition were among more than 500,000 opposition supporters to attend the funerals, witnesses said.

Anti-regime protesters pray in the Yemeni city of Ibb on September 16, 2011 against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule

Five more protesters were killed by government forces Wednesday in Change Square in the capital, Sanaa, a medical team in the square said.
One died in a rocket explosion, the medical team said, and the other four were shot by snipers, according to at least seven eyewitnesses. Nine others were injured, the medical team said.
The renewed violence, with clashes reported in half a dozen different areas of Sanaa, comes less than 12 hours after a call from the country's Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi for a cease-fire from all sides.
At least five rockets exploded near the entrance to Change Square at 2 p.m. local time, witnesses said.
The base of defected Gen. Ali Mohsen is under heavy bombardment, with smoke in the air and fires visible inside the compound after an ongoing attack lasting more than an hour.
Mohsen defected from the Yemeni military in March and since then has joined protesters demanding an end to the decades-long rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Wednesday's deaths follow those of more than 80 people in clashes from Sunday to Tuesday, according to medical officials.
The uptick in violence has led to increased pressure on Yemen from the international community.
Officials from the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) arrived in Sanaa Monday, hoping to help organize a peaceful handover of power.
But GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif al-Zayyani left the country Wednesday with no power transfer signed, according to the state-run Yemen News Agency.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has pleaded for calm in Yemen, which is facing an "unprecedented level of violence," it said Tuesday.
The ICRC is "deeply concerned" by the "significant loss of life that has occurred in the last 72 hours," it said in a statement Tuesday.
At least 25 people were killed in clashes Tuesday, medics said. Thirty-one people were killed Monday -- 28 in Sanaa and three in Taiz, according to medical officials. On Sunday, at least 26 protesters were killed and more than 550 were wounded -- hundreds of them by gunshots -- when security forces fired live bullets and tear gas at a massive demonstration in the city, a medic said.

Abdul Rahman Barman, the executive director of a local human rights organization, said Saleh's regime does not differentiate between civilians, protesters or gunmen.
"All are targets for the oppressive Saleh regime," Barman said.
Government spokesman Abdu Ganadi said that "government troops are attacking armed militants who claim to be unarmed."
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the violence and called on all those involved in it to exercise restraint.
An official with the human rights group Amnesty International said the country was on a "knife edge" and the situation could spiral into a civil war.
The Yemeni government has repeatedly denied accusations of excessive use of force, and said the government is committed to establishing a peaceful transfer of power. Yemeni officials have said forces cracked down on those committing acts of violence during protests.

Read more »