American hikers in Iran will stand trial July 31

The American hikers charged with espionage in Iran will stand trial July 31 - two years to the day after their arrest on Iran's border with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Because the trial coincides precisely with the second anniversary of their detention, said their attorney, Masoud Shafii, "it gives me the hint and hope [they] might be released that day."

Josh Fattal, of Elkins Park; Shane Bauer, of Minnesota; and Sarah Shourd, of California; were trekking on vacation in northern Iraq when they crossed the unmarked border unintentionally, or were lured into Iran by guards, their supporters say.

Shafii said authorities notified him Monday of the trial date. Last week, state media reported that Tehran's top prosecutor was hopeful of a "final decision" soon.

Josh's mother, Laura Fattal, said in an interview that the case, "baseless from the start," may be winding down.

"It's enough of carrying on with these two hikers," she said, speculating on why the drawn-out matter appears to be moving. "Whatever was useful about them [to Iran] is no longer useful."

Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Shafii said he had met only twice with his clients in 22 months - the last time on Feb. 6, 2011, when they were in court and denied the charges. Thereafter, the trial was delayed without explanation.

Fattal, 29, an environmentalist; Bauer, 28, a photojournalist; and Shourd, 32, a language teacher, met as students at the University of California at Berkeley. In July 2009, Bauer and Shourd were living in Damascus, Syria, when Fattal joined them. The three set out for a one-week hike in the scenic Kurdish mountains.

Arrested and transported to Tehran's Evin Prison, they were charged with illegal entry and spying. Iranian state media accused them of cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies. President Obama last year called them "open-minded and adventurous young people" who "have never worked for the United States government."

The case further strained relations with the Islamic Republic, already at loggerheads over U.S. allegations that Iran's nuclear-power program is a front for developing nuclear weapons.

Last September, after 14 months in solitary confinement, Shourd, by then engaged to Bauer, was freed on medical grounds when an anonymous Omani benefactor paid her $500,000 bail. She returned to California.

Unlike earlier announcements about court proceedings, the latest does not require Shourd to be present for trial. Shafii is prepared to defend her in absentia.

A U.S. psychologist who examined Shourd found that she had post-traumatic stress and concluded she would be at risk of psychological problems if forced to return to Iran.

Josh Fattal is a 2000 graduate of Cheltenham High School, where some teachers this week and next are participating in a "rolling fast" to draw attention to his case.

The hikers have staged hunger strikes - once for 17 days - to force authorities to give them letters that family members had been sending. The series of one-day fasts by 10 Cheltenham teachers is a small sacrifice "that pales in comparison to what Josh is experiencing in his captivity," said Cheltenham High School principal Elliott Lewis. "All of us in Cheltenham Township support Josh and wish for his speedy return to our community."