Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer -- the American hikers who were accused by the Iranian government of espionage in 2009, and imprisoned by the Iranian government for two years thereafter -- finally began sharing their story in a press conference yesterday. The two had harsh words for Iran. Bauer in particular said of the regime: "How can we forgive the Iranian government when it continues to imprison so many other innocent people."
The conference wasn't just defined by the duo's anger at the Iranian government. Its most affecting moment came when Fattal described the instant the two learned they would be freed:
Last Wednesday … something totally unexpected happened. On any other day we would have been blindfolded and led down the hallway back to our eight foot by thirteen foot cell. But on that day, the guards took us downstairs. They fingerprinted us and gave us street clothes. They did not tell us where we were going. Instead, they took us to another part of the prison where we saw [Omani envoy] Dr. Salem Al Ismaily. [...] The first thing Salem said to us ... he looked at us and said, "Let's go home."
[h/t The Daily Beast]
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