Lawyer: Iran may release 2 men from U.S.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage could be released after a court hearing slated for today, their lawyer said.

Masoud Shafiei said yesterday the fact that the session in the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest may indicate that they will be freed. The Muslim world also has a tradition of pardoning prisoners for the holy month of Ramadan, which starts this week.

The two men and Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, were detained on July 31, 2009, and Iran accused them of illegally crossing the border to spy. Shourd was released last year on $500,000 bail and has said she won't return to Iran for trial.

They deny the charges and claim they were only hiking in a scenic, mountainous area in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, near the Iranian border.

The lawyer said Shourd has not been summoned for today's trial session and thinks that's another indication that the case is almost over and his clients will be freed.

Shafiei suggested the court could convict the two, but then sentence them to time served. He insisted the authorities have no evidence to prove espionage, and he pointed out the area where they were detained has a porous border.

The U.S. government has appealed for the two men to be released, insisting they have done nothing wrong. The two countries have no direct diplomatic relations, so Washington relies on an interests section at the Swiss Embassy to follow the case.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Friday that two years after their arrest, the Americans' case remains a point of serious concern. He also expressed uncertainty about whether the hearing would take place as scheduled today.

"We've seen these kinds of announcements, dates set before, and the trials haven't taken place," Toner said. "Their situation remains a matter of utmost concern . . . and we hope that it reaches a positive conclusion."