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Iran releases American woman on bail
Source: Agencies |
September 15, 2010, Wednesday
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IRAN freed an American woman on US$500,000 bail yesterday, more than a year after she was detained along the border with Iraq.
However, authorities said they were not considering the immediate release of the two companions arrested with her.
The release of 32-year-old Sarah Shourd followed days of conflicting statements by Iranian authorities on whether she would be let go.
The decision got mired in internal political feuds among Iran's leadership and questions over whether the family could raise the bail money and if it did, would the payment violate sanctions against the Iranian regime.
Shourd's lawyer said she would travel first to the Gulf state of Oman - about a two-hour flight from Iran - where her mother already was waiting for her. She was expected to leave later in the day.
Shortly after Iranian state media announced Shourd's release, the country's hardline judiciary said the "pretrial detention" of her two American companions - Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal - had been extended for two more months.
Shourd and Bauer are engaged to be married. Iran has charged all three with spying, allegations their families and the United States government have rejected.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Shourd was being released on compassionate grounds because of health reasons.
Her mother says she has serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
Tehran's chief prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said bail had been paid to Iran's Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman.
Iran indicted the three Americans on spy-related charges on Sunday and the prosecutor's statement suggested the men would face trials while proceedings against Shourd could be held in absentia.
However, authorities said they were not considering the immediate release of the two companions arrested with her.
The release of 32-year-old Sarah Shourd followed days of conflicting statements by Iranian authorities on whether she would be let go.
The decision got mired in internal political feuds among Iran's leadership and questions over whether the family could raise the bail money and if it did, would the payment violate sanctions against the Iranian regime.
Shourd's lawyer said she would travel first to the Gulf state of Oman - about a two-hour flight from Iran - where her mother already was waiting for her. She was expected to leave later in the day.
Shortly after Iranian state media announced Shourd's release, the country's hardline judiciary said the "pretrial detention" of her two American companions - Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal - had been extended for two more months.
Shourd and Bauer are engaged to be married. Iran has charged all three with spying, allegations their families and the United States government have rejected.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Shourd was being released on compassionate grounds because of health reasons.
Her mother says she has serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
Tehran's chief prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said bail had been paid to Iran's Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman.
Iran indicted the three Americans on spy-related charges on Sunday and the prosecutor's statement suggested the men would face trials while proceedings against Shourd could be held in absentia.
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