American hikers to stand trial

Back on July 31, three U.S. hikers, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal, were in the midst of a 5-day trek in Kurdistan when they accidentally wandered past an unmarked border into Iran. They were arrested by the Iranian government, and charged with espionage. Now they will be put on trial. According to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the charges are entirely unfounded, that the Americans and "have absolutely no connection with any kind of action against the Iranian state or governmet." Since the U.S. has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979, Swiss diplomats are applealing for them. Prominent activists, as well as the families of the accused have petitioned the Iranian government for their release. Iranian President Ahmadinejad says he has no control over the case, and that "illegal entry" is a crime in every country.

I am astonished that such a trivial mistake by some innocent hikers could have erupted into such a diplomatic battle. The Iranian government has enough trouble on its plate, especially as the countries of the world already are wary of their dangerous and un-cooperative actions in many other aspects. The nuclear threat from Iran has been looming for quite some time, and negotiations seem to get nowhere, no matter what sanctions and other warnings the U.N. hands down to Iran. This story is a much smaller example of how Iran is ostrasizing itself from the world. I wonder why they have to be so intentionally ornery, especially when it harms their reputation and success in the long run. I only hope that they will see to a just descision in the courts, which is to let these three Americans free. They have obviously done nothing, and holding them is a petty way to insult America. Why can't we all just get along? I hope that these three hikers come out of this ordeal unscathed. If they get jail-time, that is an outrage.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.hikers/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29