Together Again

Mothers Visit Jailed Iranian Hikers

Have been detained for nearly a year.

The three U.S. hikers imprisoned in Iran since July after crossing the border from northern Iraq were reunited with their mothers Thursday. Iran accused the hikers of working for the CIA, though the trio says their border crossing was just an accident. The mothers have requested their children's freedom, though their future is still unknown. A lawyer for the detained hikers said, “This possibility is very unlikely because the file is still in the investigation stage and a court verdict can allow them to go, but speaking out of a legal context, anything can happen.” The hikers, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal, and their mothers will be together until at least the evening, and it's unclear whether the detainees will return to the prison at that time. The mothers hope to move forward by meeting with officials involved in the case and, perhaps, with top Iranian leaders including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.