SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)_ Demonstrations are being held in San Francisco and across the nation Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of Iran’s detention of three Cal graduates.
On the eve of the anniversary, President Obama added his voice to the list, calling for the release of the hikers.
And a resolution by Senator Barbara Boxer demands their immediate release.
Senator Boxer, along with Senator Diane Feinstein, and four other senate Democrats, introduced a congressional resolution urging the Iranian government to immediately and unconditionally release the three Cal grads, who were captured by Iranian authorities who accused them of crossing Iran’s border during a hiking trip on July 31st last year.
Earlier this year, Senator Boxer asked Iranian President Ahmadinejad to allow the hikers’ mothers to visit their children in prison. That wish was granted when the visit eventually did take place.
Senator Boxer commented on the resolution, hoping it would serve as a reminder not to forget about the hikers.
“In the world we live in, there’s so much information coming at people, we tend to forget what happened just a few days ago, let alone a year ago. I hope it keeps this issue alive and sends a message to Iran. They should release these people. They did absolutely nothing wrong,” said Boxer.
Iran has cracked down on the hikers even further locking out Swiss diplomats who had been allowed to visit the hikers several times and saying no to visits from the families’ lawyers.
Local Protests for Detained Hikers
Meanwhile, protestors came from far and wide to San Francisco’s BART station. Many laid out signs asking that their friends, Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal be released from an Iranian prison. Others handed out origami peace cranes.
Rally organizer Jennifer Miller was pleased that President Obama spoke out on the hikers’ behalf this past week and that Amnesty International has shown their support too.
“We want the world to know that our friends are not spies and that they meant no harm to Iran. We want them free as soon as possible and we’re doing what we can,” said Miller.
Miller said it’s important to keep this story alive as her friends sit in a foreign prison far away from home.
Nora Shourd, Sarah’s mother, stated that she hopes the ordeal doesn’t go much farther, and that the one-year mark is looked at in a different way by the Iranians and that they say “enough is enough”.
