Friends and relatives of three Americans detained by Iran plan to hold vigils across the US and around the world on Sunday to call for their immediate release.
The vigils come as Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, spend their 100th day in detention after being taken into custody by Iranian border guards on July 31.
Josh Fattal’s brother Alex said he expected thousands of people to participate in the vigils at various locations across the US, including the home states of the three hikers — California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota — and as far away as India and China.
“It’s a very simple message and that is a hundred days in detention is way too long, and Sarah, Shane and Josh need to be released immediately,” Fattal said.
Family and friends of the three said they were hiking in a mountainous border region in northern Iraq near a famous waterfall when they unintentionally strayed into Iran.
“One hundred days later and we really have no indication about what their status is,” Fattal said.
Swiss representatives acting on behalf of the US government, which does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, have visited the three in Iran’s Evin prison.
“We’ve been assured by the Swiss that they have not been mistreated,” Fattal said, adding that the families remained concerned about the psychological toll the detention is having.
While US government officials are not expected to attend the vigils, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week publicly called on Iran to release the three Americans and said the administration was “exploring every angle” to help them.
The top US diplomat also met the families of the three, telling reporters she was “impressed by their strength.”
The vigils, which are being coordinated through the Web site www.freethehikers.org, are being held in 10 US states and eight countries.
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