 |
Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd, and Shane Bauer |
Supporters of three Berkeley alums detained by Iran mark the one-month anniversary of their arrest
| 31 August 2009
BERKELEY — Flanked by a banner reading "Free the Hikers," supporters of three young Berkeley alums being detained by the Iranian authorities held a news conference today at Alumni House to press for the trio's release.
Cal alums Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, all in their 20s, reportedly strayed into Iran while hiking in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, and were arrested a month ago, on July 31. Iranian media have reported that the three students have been charged with "illegal entry."
"Iran has confirmed that it is holding our children. But it is heartbreaking for us to have had no other news of them," local resident Nora Shourd, mother of Sarah Shourd, said in a trembling voice. "We again appeal to the Iranian authorities to grant Shane, Josh, and Sarah their right to consular access."
Shourd was joined by 17 young people, most of them recent campus alums, each wearing a photo of the trio taken in Iraq shortly before their arrest. Jennifer Miller '09, a friend of Shane and Sarah, noted that "developing positive global relations and embracing other cultures" were values they had absorbed at Berkeley. It was in that spirit, she said, that her friends had been learning Arabic while at Cal and taken an interest in the Middle East. Josh's brother Alex, ASUC president Will Smelko, and three Berkeley faculty likewise described the three alums as idealistic and engaged young people.
Family and friends of the Cal grads have created a website, "Free the Hikers," offering information on the trio and ways to help secure their safe release.