Iran sets new date for hearing of American hikers

TEHRAN, Iran, (AP) – A lawyer for the three American hikers charged with espionage in Iran say a new
hearing date has been set in the case.
Masoud Shafiei told The Associated Press on Tuesday he’d been notified that the case will come up on July 31. Iran has said it expects to make a final decision in the case of three Americans by late August.
Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd were detained in late July 2009 along the Iran-Iraq border. The three deny the allegations.
Bauer and Fattal remain in custody. Bauer’s fiancee, Shourd, was released last year on $500,000 bail and has refused to return to Iran for trial.
Shafiei says the court did not ask him to bring Shourd to the session though it did so in the previous notifications.