, Shane Bauer and . By now those names should resonate somewhere deep in your psyche. They are the who were detained in on July 31, 2009, while they were hiking recreationally near the Ahmed Awa waterfall in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Besides the obvious injustice, what makes the fate of these three young Americans even more tragic and ironic is that they embody all that is good in human nature. They are educators and peace-activists who have spent years serving others and helping indigenous communities. They want nothing more than the freedom to continue making this world a better, fairer place.

Their case has caused a global outcry by human rights defenders and organizations citing violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a signatory. After arresting them for illegal entry, Iranian authorities have broken numerous international laws by way of arbitrary detention, lack of due process, torture by isolation, and by denying them adequate legal counsel or consular visits.

Shourd was released in September 2010 on $500,000 (U.S.) bail, at which point she returned home to the United States and has been on a tireless campaign alongside the hikers’s families to free her fiance (Bauer) and friend (Fattal) ever since. If you Google the word “hikers” you will find that their “Free The Hikers” campaign website appears right at the top, second only to Wikipedia, a testament to just how far-reaching their collective efforts have been.

On June 3, 2011, I joined Shourd in Los Angeles for the campaign’s rolling hunger strike in solidarity with Bauer and Fattal.  I was amazed by her courage, warmth and undiminished sense of hope in spite of all she has been through. It takes an extraordinary person to not lose faith in humanity when faced with such a grave injustice.

Bauer and Fattal remain in Iran’s notorious Evin prison on trumped-up charges of espionage. The hikers have not received a fair trial nor have they been formally charged with recognizable criminal offenses.

Media statements given by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggest that Iran may be seeking concessions by holding Bauer and Fattal captive, an act tantamount to hostage-taking. In fact, for many, this may bring to mind the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis when fifty-two Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days, only to be used by the Iranian government as political bargaining chips in its dealings with the United States.

The world cannot stand by while the hikers’s rights continue to be sacrificed in this game of political oneupmanship. Iran is obliged to comply with the provisions of the ICCPR, abide by international standards for a fair trial and allow Bauer and Fattal to return home to their families and loved ones immediately.

 

Nazanin Boniadi

Actress/ Spokesperson Amnesty International USA

 

NB: For more information on the rolling hunger strike for Shane & Josh and how you can join in, see http://bit.ly/SSJfast