Iran has charged three detained
United States citizens with espionage.
The
three, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27,
were held after they crossed into
Iran from northern Iraq in July.
The official
IRNA news agency quoted a general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari
Dolatabadi as saying, "Investigations continue into the three
detained Americans in Iran."
Denials
Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has however said there was no evidence to
back the charges.
"We believe
strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge
whatsoever,"
Clinton said in Berlin on Monday.
"And we would
renew our request on behalf of these three young people and
their families that the
Iranian government exercise compassion and release them so
they can return home, and we will continue to make that case,"
she added.
Their families
also said they strayed across the border accidentally.
The United
States has sent strong messages to
Iran urging the release of the three hikers, calling on the
authorities to exercise "compassion" toward the three
Americans.
The case comes
at a time of high tensions between
Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear plans and after
Iranian officials accused foreign nations of fuelling the worst
unrest for three decades that erupted after a disputed June
presidential election.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an
interview with the American television network NBC in September
that the Americans' release might be linked to the release of
Iranian diplomats he said were being held by U.S. troops in
Iraq.
Under
Iran's Islamic sharia law, espionage is a crime that is
punishable by death.
REUTERS/Yinka
