Iran Releases American Hiker
ABC News reports:
Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans who have been held in Iran for 14 months on accusations of espionage, has been released, Iranian state television reported today.
Iranian prosecutors said Monday the 32-year-old would be released due to health issues on the condition of a $500,000 bail payment. It is unclear if the bail has been paid.
"I am inside Evin prison, doing her paperwork. She has been released and is heading towards the Swiss Embassy," Masoud Shafie, an attorney for the Americans, told Reuters.
Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had announced last week that Shourd would be released on Sept. 11. At the time, there was no mention of bail.
Officials in Iran's judiciary canceled those plans Friday, but reinstated them Sunday on the condition that her family post $500,000 bail, according to an Iranian prosecutor who spoke to Iran's IRNA news agency.
A senior U.S. official familiar with the negotiations told ABC News Monday that the U.S. government would not be contributing any cash for Shourd's release.
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