An Iranian court has ordered the release on bail of two American nationals convicted of espionage, their lawyer said on Tuesday, adding they would be allowed to leave the Islamic state right after their release. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested in July 2009 near Iran’s border with Iraq, where they say they were hiking in the mountains. A third American, Sarah Shourd, was freed on $500,000 bail in Sept. 2010 and returned home.
Bauer and Fattal were convicted last month and share a cell in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. “The appeals court has agreed for the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal on $500,000 bail for each of them … They can leave Iran right after their release,” Masoud Shafie told Reuters.
