Iran has sentenced two American hikers to eight years in prison for illegal entry and spying for a US intelligence agency, state television said on Saturday quoting an informed judiciary source. "Shane Bauer ... and ... Josh Fattal, the two detained American citizens, have been each sentenced to three years in prison for illegal entry to the Islamic Republic of Iran," the television reported on its website.
It also said the two have been "sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage for the American intelligence agency," without saying when the verdict had been reached. "The case of Sarah Shourd, who has been freed on bail is still open," the report said, referring to the third hiker, who is being tried in absentia.
The verdict is expected to further raise tension between Washington and Tehran at a time when the animosity between the two has deepened under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Washington has vehemently denied Tehran's charge that the three were spies and has called on the Islamic republic to release Bauer and Fattal. According to the report, the two men have 20 days to appeal against the verdict. The lawyer for the three Americans, Masoud Shafii, told AFP he had not been informed of any decision since their trial ended on July 31.
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