751 days of imprisonment, followed by 8 years of jail

In a closed court in Tehran, a branch of the revolutionary court, sentenced Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal (American Hikers) to eight years jail.

The men were arrested, along with a third hiker Sara Shourd in July 2009 (she was later released with a bail of $500,000). They have been charged for illegally crossing the Iranian border when hiking, and for allegedly spying for America.

The conviction of the two men has been surprising given that it happened during the month of Ramadan. Speculation was rife that they would have been released as a humanitarian gesture. Hilary Clinton said that the US was “deeply disappointed” by this sentence.

The men have twenty days to appeal the sentence.