Freed hiker Fattal celebrates at Arcadia

Yes, Josh Fattal, you can go home again. You'll be amazed at how people tried to get you back.

That was the message from more than 250 well-wishers Saturday, many of them founding members of FreeTheHikers.org, as they toasted the return of the Elkins Park native imprisoned in Iran for 781 days on charges of espionage.

Sharing hugs and sighs of relief, a stream of supporters, including U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.) and dozens of Cheltenham High graduates, came together in a 19th-century castle at Arcadia University in Glenside to share a moment that at times seemed just a distant wish.

"For two years we all worked to make sure that Josh got here safely," Schwartz said in an interview. "Thank God he is here."

Fattal, a 2000 graduate of Cheltenham High School, was hiking with two friends in Iraqi Kurdistan when they were arrested by Iranian border guards July 31, 2009. If they crossed Iran's unmarked border, they say, it was by accident. The resulting international incident took 26 months to resolve with the release of all three. Sarah Shourd, 33, of California, was let go a year ago for health reasons.

Shane Bauer, of Minnesota, and Fattal, both 29, went free last week. The price of freedom for each was $500,000 "bail," paid anonymously and mediated by the Persian Gulf state of Oman.

Last month, when Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison after a closed-door trial, Travis Scott, who grew up with Fattal and was two years behind him in school, said he thought all was lost and that his friend would have to serve at least five years. Reminiscing with other friends in what seemed like the oddest of reunions, he was happy to see Fattal looking well in a black button-down shirt and blue jeans.

Although the party itself was off-limits to media, Fattal took a few minutes for an organized presentation to assembled reporters, and witnessed by the party guests.

He drew a chuckle when he began by saying he has to get used to public speaking again.

"I want to say, 'thank you,' but I feel you won't get enough what I mean," he said.

Faced with prison walls and injustice, he said, it would have been easy for people to throw their hands up and say, "What can I do?"

But when letters got through and he heard about familiar names working on his behalf, he said, "It changed everything for us . . . and I'd feel better."

The magnificent 40-room castle at Arcadia was decorated with yellow and blue helium-filled balloons. In a central ballroom, frescoes of angels were painted on the ceiling. From a small bar, wine and beer were being served. An adjacent room held a large-screen TV, tuned to the Phillies playoff game, which drew whoops and hollers when Ryan Howard hit the three-run go-ahead homer. Later, the TV was pushed back and friends danced to a DJ's music. In another room was a buffet of pizza, cold cuts, cakes, and brownies. Fattal, plucked from isolation a week ago, absorbed it all in relative stride. For a time he stood in front of the bar, not drinking, as people just came up and seemed to want to touch him.

The room with the TV was festooned with posters that had been used in demonstrations to raise awareness about his case. There were: "Two Years, Too Long"; "Shame On You, Iran"; and "Free All Three."

Fattal's parents, Laura and Jacob Fattal, and his older brother Alex, 33, wore 1,000-watt smiles as they received friends.

Before Josh spoke publicly, Laura and Alex Fattal spoke, too. "You have seen me do an enormous amount of media," Laura Fattal said to the gathered supporters, "but I could not have done anything without you."

When Alex Fattal spoke, he shared a line from a song called "Juicy" by Dead Prez that he and his brother have always liked.

"Yeah," he said, "it's been a long fight. But we all right."