US Hikers' Spying Trial to Start 'Soon' in Iran

(Jan. 12) -- Iran indicated Tuesday it was close to convening a spy trial against three American hikers who wandered across the Iran-Iraq border last summer.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told state television "the judiciary will make a decision, and we know that they will be tried soon." His comments were carried by Reuters. Iran announced last month that the Americans would be put on trial but offered no date.

The three -- Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31 and Josh Fattal, 27 -- have been languishing in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison since they were picked up by border guards on July 31. They were formally charged with espionage in November.

Their families say they were hiking in Iraq's northern Kurdish areas when they mistakenly strayed over the unmarked border with Iran. But Iran's foreign minister has said they entered his country "with suspicious aims."

The case has strained already shaky relations between Tehran and Washington, who are also deadlocked in a row over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called Iran's case against the three hikers "totally unfounded" and demanded their unconditional release.

Under Iran's code of hardline Islamic law, espionage can be punishable by death.

Bauer, Shourd and Fattal have not been allowed to make telephone calls from prison, according to a statement issued by their families last month. "We are increasingly concerned about their state of mind after almost five months of isolation," it said.

Washington cut formal ties with Iran after the country's 1979 Islamic revolution and hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and the two have had a strained relationship ever since.

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Spying Trial to Start 'Soon' for US Hikers in Iran

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