TEHRAN, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The Iranian government was poised Saturday to release two U.S. hikers originally charged as spies in 2009, the men's lawyer said in Tehran.
Lawyer Masoud Shafiee said the last hurdle was to have two judges sign documents showing a $500,000 bail bond had been posted for each of them, CNN reported.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were arrested along with Sarah Shourd while hiking in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq in July 2009. They told officials they had started out in neighboring Iraq and weren't aware they'd crossed into Iran, as there were no marked border signs.
They were accused of being spies and have been jailed since, although Iran released Shourd last year for medical reasons. The charges against her remain, however, the report said.
As for the men's release, Shafiee told CNN he was optimistic.
"Anything is possible. I am very hopeful that it will be today," he said.
