British, French Embassy Workers Go on Trial in Iran

Staff members from the British and French embassies in Iran, as well as a French scholar, were among the more than 100 persons on trial in Tehran in the aftermath of the violent election protests in June. Via CNN:

The French and British embassy employees and a French scholar were among 100 defendants who appeared in Tehran's Revolutionary Court as a mass trial of Iranians and others resumed Saturday.

The EU presidency, currently held by Sweden, said Iran will be held responsible.

"The presidency reiterates that actions against one EU country -- citizen or embassy staff -- is considered an action against all of EU, and will be treated accordingly," the European Union said in a statement. "The EU will closely follow the trial and demand that the persons will be released promptly."

Britain's Foreign Office also denounced the proceedings, calling them an "outrage."

Among those named in court Saturday were Clotilde Reiss, a French academic working in Iran, and Nazak Afshar, an employee of the French embassy in Tehran.

France called for the release of both women, saying the charges against them are unfounded.

"France also stands against the conditions of that [court] appearance," the French foreign ministry said. "The embassy was not informed in advance nor permitted to attend the hearing, in accordance with international rules of consular protection. We regret that Ms. Clotilde Reiss and Ms. Afshar are not being assisted by a lawyer."

The semiofficial Fars News Agency said Reiss admitted to her crimes in court Saturday and asked for clemency.

"I shouldn't have participated in the illegal demonstration and shouldn't have sent the pictures, I am regretful," Fars quoted her as saying. "I apologize to the Iranian people and court and I hope the people and the court forgive me."

Human rights groups and Iran's opposition leaders have accused the government of coercing such confessions.

Please continue to pray for these defendants and for the others on trial for peacefully protesting against an oppressive tyranny, and for true justice to triumph.

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Iran to Put British Embassy Staff on Trial

Three American Hikers Detained by Iran

Three Americans hiking in the Kurdish region of Iraq were detained by Iranian authorities Friday after they strayed across an unmarked border crossing. Via CNN:

(CNN) -- Swiss diplomats are trying to meet with three American hikers being held in Iran, the Swiss Embassy in Tehran said Monday.

The embassy would not say whether Iranian authorities had responded to their request or if diplomats had met the Americans.

Four American friends -- seasoned travelers -- were hiking through Iraq's Kurdistan region last week before three of them crossed the unmarked border with Iran, where Iranian authorities detained them.

Kurdish officials identified the hikers as Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, CNN confirmed Sunday. The fourth hiker, Shon Meckfessel, stayed behind in Iraq.

"My husband and I are eager for the best welfare and conditions for our son, Josh, and for the other two companions he's with," Laura Fattal of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, told CNN Radio. "And that is our only concern, his welfare and the best conditions for him."

Meckfessel, a graduate student at the University of Washington, was identified by his grandmother, who told CNN that he stayed behind because he felt sick. Meckfessel met with a consular official at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the embassy said.

"My grandson has asked me not to talk to the media," said Irene Meckfessel of Carmichael, California, before hanging up Saturday.

Iran's state-run media reported that Iranian security forces arrested the three Americans on Friday on charges of illegally entering the country from Iraq's Kurdistan region and that the matter is under investigation.

Please pray that this incident is resolved quickly and that the three young people are released unharmed without this turning into a major ordeal like the recent Roxana Saberi case.

Iran to Put British Embassy Staff on Trial

Two Iranian employees of the British Embassy in Tehran will face trial for inciting protests following the recent election. Nine Embassy staffers were detained earlier this week but several have since been released. Via CNN:

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- A top Iranian cleric said Friday some of the arrested employees from the British Embassy in Tehran would be put on trial, Iranian Students News Agency reported.

The employees have been accused of helping to incite some of the post-election protests that swept through the country.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued a statement "urgently seeking clarification from the appropriate Iranian authorities."

He said: "We are confident that our staff have not engaged in any improper or illegal behavior.

"We remain deeply concerned about the two members of our staff who remain in detention in Iran."

Iranian officials had said previously that all but one of the nine embassy staffers taken into custody on June 27 were released.

The European Union said Friday that all of its member governments will call in the Iranian ambassadors in their countries to tell them that the EU opposes the continued detention of the two British staffers.

Please continue to pray for the protection of these Embassy staffers and all those others who long for freedom but are being swept up in brutal police raids and violence.

US Journalist Freed in Iran

Good news from Iran: American reporter Roxana Saberi, arrested in Iran in January and convicted of espionage last month, has been freed. Via Fox News:

An American reporter jailed in Iran on espionage charges was to be freed Monday and can leave the country immediately, her lawyer said after an appeals court suspended her eight-year prison sentence.

However, an Iranian judiciary source told Reuters that freelance journalist Roxana Saberi has already been freed from Tehran's Evin jail.

Saberi, a 32-year-old dual American-Iranian national who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, was convicted last month of spying for the U.S. and sentenced to eight years in prison. An appeals court heard her case on Sunday.

Thank God for this answered prayer! Please continue to pray for American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee who are facing similar trumped charges in North Korea after being kidnapped by guards as they were filming a story about human trafficking along the Chinese border.