Iranian Court Agrees to Release American Inmates on Bail

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Revolution court has agreed to release Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal on USD500,000 bail, their lawyer announced on Tuesday.
"Branch 36 of the revision court has consented to release these two American nationals on a bail of half a million dollar," said Massoud Shafi'ee, the Iranian lawyer of Bauer and Fattal who along with another American national - Sarah Shourd - were detained on spying charges after crossing Iran-Iraq borders illegally in 2009.

Shourd returned to the United States after she was freed on humanitarian and medical grounds in September 2010, paying bail of around 500,000 dollars, but she was tried in absentia.

"The families of these two Americans and the Swiss embassy which hosts the US interests section in Tehran have been informed of this issue and Bauer and Fattal can leave Iran similar to Sara Shourd," the lawyer added.

Also earlier today, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had told the NBC news network that the two American inmates would be freed within the next few days.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 28, were arrested along with Sarah Shourd, 32, on July 31, 2009, on suspicion of spying after crossing into Iran from neighboring Iraq.

Their last court hearing was held on July 31.