Iran has charged three detained US citizens with illegally entering Iran and accused them of espionage. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal have been jailed in Iran since July, when they crossed the border from northern Iraq. Their families said they were hiking and had strayed across the border accidentally. The twenty-seven-year-old Shane Bauer is an independent journalist who has reported for Democracy Now!, Mother Jones and The Nation. On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the case was for the Iranian judiciary to decide.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “In all countries, illegally crossing borders has great consequences. Unfortunately, they have entered our borders illegally. We are not happy with this, but no matter what, there are laws. We hope they will convince our legal system and judge that they had no bad intentions.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Iran’s decision, saying there is no evidence to support any charge. Shon Meckfessel appeared on Democracy Now! last week and called for the release of his friends. Shon was traveling with the detained Americans in July but didn’t go hiking with them because he was feeling sick.

Shon Meckfessel: “So I understand clearly why the Iranian authorities would be curious about their presence initially and had some questions for them, but they know who they are at this point. They know what their characters are. Everything is publicly available. Anyone with questions about their character can look at their writings on the internet or, you know, clearly see our past, as it’s evident. And it’s obvious the kind of people they are. It’s obvious they’re not a threat to Iran, so I just don’t understand why they’re being held.”