Americans jailed in Iran are released

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American hikers who had been jailed inside the country for more than two years, arrived in New York on Sunday.

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Sept. 25, 2011

Shane Bauer, far right, and Josh Fattal, two U.S. hikers held by Iran for more than two years on spying charges, and fellow former detainee Sarah Shourd give a press conference after arriving in New York. The two said they were detained because of their nationality, not their actions.

EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sept. 21, 2011

Shane Bauer, center, greets fiance Sarah Shourd, right, and another woman upon his arrival in Muscat, Oman, after his release from Tehran's Evin prison.

JUMANA EL-HELOUEH / REUTERS

Sept. 21, 2011

Josh Fattal, left, hugs his brother Alex upon his arrival in Muscat.

JUMANA EL-HELOUEH / REUTERS

Sept. 21, 2011

American hikers Shane Bauer, second from left, and Josh Fattal, third from left, walk with an Omani delegation at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport before flying to Oman.

IRNA / REUTERS

Sept. 21, 2011

The Swiss ambassador to Tehran, Livia Leu Agosti, speaks on a cellphone as she waits for the hikers in front of Evin prison in Tehran.

RAHEB HOMAVANDI / REUTERS

Feb. 6, 2011

American hikers Shane Bauer, left, and Josh Fattal attend the first session of their trial at the revolutionary court in February in Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sept. 13, 2011, that the two Americans arrested near Iran's border with Iraq and sentenced for espionage will soon be released in a humanitarian gesture. "I think these two persons will be freed in a couple of days," Ahmadinejad said through an interpreter in an interview broadcast on NBC's "Today" show. "These two persons will be released. It's going to be over," he added.

/ Reuters

American hikers Shane Bauer, left, and Josh Fattal wait to see their mothers at the Esteghlal hotel in Tehran.

Press TV / AP

July 29, 2011

People wear masks with the faces of Shane Bauer, center, and Josh Fattal — U.S. hikers being held in Iran on charges of espionage — at a rally outside the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York. On July 31, 2009, Bauer and Fattal were arrested by Iranian forces on the unmarked border with Kurdistan, where they were hiking during a vacation. A third hiker, Bauer's fiance Sarah Shourd, was released in September 2010 after 410 days in solitary confinement.

Allison Joyce / Reuters

July 27, 2011

Sarah Shourd, a hiker freed by Iran, and Alex Fattal, brother of hiker Josh Fattal, one of two other hikers who have been detained since July 2009 in Iran, are interviewed in New York.

Richard Drew / AP

Sept. 14, 2010

American hiker Sarah Shourd, who was released by Iran after more than 13 months in detention, walks with her mother Nora as U.S. ambassador to Oman Richard Schmierer, left, follows, upon the former's arrival at the Omani capital Muscat.

Mohammed Mahjoub / AFP/Getty Images

Sept. 19, 2010

Sarah Shourd, center, the American hiker released from detention in Iran after 410 days; Cindy Hickey, left, Shane Bauer's mother, and Laura Fattal, Josh Fattal's mother, arrive for a press conference in New York. U.S. hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were captured with Shourd.

Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images

May 21, 2010

Detained U.S. citizens Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, left, and Joshua Fattal smile as they wait to meet their mothers at the Esteghlal hotel in Tehran.

/ Reuters

May 20, 2010

The hikers reunite with their mothers: from left, Laura Fattal, Nora Shourd and Cindy Hickey.

Press TV / Reuters

May 20, 2010

Laura Fattal kisses son Josh after a news conference in Tehran.

Raheb Homavandi / Reuters

May 20, 2010

Nora Shourd with daughter Sarah after their lunch at a hotel in Tehran.

Press TV / AP

May 20, 2010

Iranian authorities informally accused the three hikers of spying, which their relatives strongly deny.

/ AP

May 20, 2010

Detainees Bauer, left, and Shourd with Nora Shourd. Bauer's mother, Cindy Hickey, said the parents are "very grateful to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the authorities for granting us a visa" to visit.

/ Getty Images

May 20, 2010

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used the Americans' case to call attention to several Iranians imprisoned in the United States, prompting speculation that the Islamic Republic would be interested in an exchange. Iranian authorities strongly denied this.

/ Getty Images

May 19, 2010

The mothers wore conservative headscarves in keeping with an Iranian requirement that women cover their hair.

Vahid Salemi / AP

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