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Shourd Makes First Bay Area Appearance Since Release

OAKLAND (CBS/AP) - An American hiker recently freed by Iran says she's still haunted by images of her fiance and friend remaining confined in a cramped jail cell.

In her first public appearance in the San Francisco Bay area since being released last month by Iranian authorities, Sara Shourd called on Iranian officials to show compassion and release her fiancee, Shane Bauer, and friend, Josh Fattal.

Shourd spoke at friend's home in Oakland Saturday, where she and supporters were writing letters of support to Bauer and Fattal.

The three University of California, Berkeley graduates were near the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 when they were arrested by Iranian authorities. They were accused of illegally crossing the border and spying.

Shourd has denied Iran's allegations and says the three were just hiking through a scenic area during a vacation.

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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