Iran may release 2 Americans

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 early in the week ahead.

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 say they were 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 he thinks that is another indication that the case is almost over and his clients will be freed.

Shafiei suggested the court could convict the two and sentence them to time served.

“They’ve spent two years of their life in jail in Iran, which will serve as their sentence. And tomorrow will coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest. My clients could be released should the court hearing be held tomorrow as planned,’’ he said.

Shafiei insisted the authorities have no evidence to prove espionage, and he pointed out the area where they were detained has a porous border.

“The espionage charge is irrelevant, and the charge of illegal entry is inconsistent with the facts. There was no clear border line, and my clients are not guilty. I’ve provided a sufficient defense,’’ he said.

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

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner, speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, said 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. “We are in regular contact with the family; we are in regular contact with our Swiss protecting power there. And their situation remains a matter of utmost concern for the United States and we hope that it reaches a positive conclusion.’’

Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey of Pine City, Minn., said she would be up all night praying.

“As a mother I’m always holding out hope, but it’s been two years. . . . It’s time for this to be heard in court and for a release to be made,’’ Hickey said, adding that she has heard “some really positive comments coming out of Tehran’’ that give her hope.

Tehran’s chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, who told Iran’s official news agency in June that officials “are hopeful that the final decision about the three Americans’ case will be taken’’ at the hearing.

The families, who have long maintained the hikers’ innocence, took his comments as a good sign that their ordeal will soon be over.

“They themselves said that it will be the final decision, at that point, and the final hearing. So I have every belief that they will live [up] to this, and I am more than eager to see Josh and Shane come home,’’ said Fattal’s mother, Laura Fattal, of Elkins Park, Pa. She also said she sees the timing of the hearing date as a positive sign.

Shourd, now 32, and Bauer got engaged in prison before she was released on what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said were humanitarian grounds after health issues.

She said she is trying to be optimistic.

“Optimism is what gets me through every day and what gets Shane and Josh through every day in prison,’’ Shourd said.