‘Islamic kindness’ may aid hikers

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi on Saturday appeared hopeful that the two Americans who were last month jailed for spying would be shown “Islamic kindness” by the judiciary.

“The judiciary wants to let Islamic kindness be considered in the case of the two U.S. nationals and their jail sentences be revised,” Salehi told reporters in Tehran.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were detained in July 2009, along with their companion Sarah Shourd, after crossing into Iran from Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

A Tehran court in August sentenced Bauer and Fattal to eight years in prison.

Their lawyer, Massoud Shafei, on Saturday said that he had not yet obtained the judiciary’s approval for bail of $1 million.