Emotions hit the State Department on Thursday when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with the families of the three American hikers currently in an Iranian prison. Clinton spoke to the families of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal and expressed her sympathy, especially as a parent.
“These three young people are obviously not only on the minds of their family members but on the minds of all of us,” said Clinton after her closed-door meeting with the families. “It was an emotional meeting and I described to the families everything that we are doing.”
“I was impressed by their strength and fortitude and commitment. They are determined, as we are, to see these young people returned home,” she added. “As a mother, my heart went out to all of them. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to know that your child was imprisoned, for now 100 days, with very little contact between you and them.”
Clinton appealed to the Iranian authorities to release the hikers, who have been in custody since late July, on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. She also emphasized that the U.S. government is “exploring every angle” and doing everything for the release of the captives.
Bauer, Shourd and Fattal were taken into custody on July 31 for illegally entering the Iraqi border, while hiking through the northern part of the country. The three University of California, Berkeley graduates are currently detained in a Tehran prison. The families and the U.S. government said that the hikers were only on vacation and did not intend to go beyond the border.
