The boxing legend Muhammad Ali joined the families of the jailed U.S. hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, to appeal for their release from Iran. Bauer and Fattal, along with Sarah Shourd, were arrested in June 2009 while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border. Shourd was freed last year. Ali’s wife, Lonnie Ali, read a statement on his behalf.

Lonnie Ali: “We ask for their release, their compassionate release, and the mercy that they showed to Sarah, to show the same to Josh and to Shane, because they too are citizens of the world. If they will look at them as the world looked at Muhammad when he was a young man, in the same fashion, wanting to experience the world, experience people.”

Bauer and Fattal were due to be tried on espionage charges this month, but their trial was unexpectedly delayed. The pair’s mothers, Cindy Hickey and Laura Fattal, also spoke.

Cindy Hickey: “It is now 662 days since Shane and Josh were detained by Iranian forces. This is far too long. Shane and Josh are innocent. They have suffered long enough. Our families have also suffered.”

Laura Fattal: “Josh and Shane have committed no crime. We believe they are being punished simply because of their nationality. Their isolation is extreme.”