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Iranian judicial authorities who reversed
plans to release a detained American woman insisted Saturday that
she and two friends will remain in custody until legal procedures
have been exhausted.


      The about-face was an embarrassment to President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, who had personally intervened to get Sarah Shourd
released as an act of clemency at the end of the holy month of
Ramadan, according to state media. The judiciary blocked plans to
let her go just hours before her planned release on Saturday.


      The statement by Tehran's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari
Dowlatabadi, did not specify whether the decision meant there would
have to be a trial - which could take weeks or months - or another
form of case review.


      The move indicated Shourd had been caught in the middle of an
internal power struggle between Ahmadinejad and conservative rivals
in the judiciary, which is under the direct control of Iran's
highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.


      Dowlatabadi underscored that point in a statement posted
Saturday on the judiciary's website, insisting that any
announcement about the Americans' release "would only come through
the judiciary system."


      The 31-year-old Shourd was detained with two other Americans,
Shane Bauer  and Josh Fattal, along the border between Iraq and Iran
on July 31, 2009. They have been accused of illegally crossing the
border and spying in a case that has deepened tension with the
U.S., a relationship already strained over Washington's suspicions
that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons - something Iran
denies.


      Their families say they were hiking in Iraq's scenic north and
that if they crossed the border, they did so unwittingly. Shourd
has been held in solitary confinement, and her mother has said
she's been denied treatment for serious health problems, including
a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
      

Dowlatabadi said in a statement that her illness was not a
factor in the decision.


      The postponed release was not the first mixed signal in the
case. Judicial officials have said several times that a trial would
start soon, but few details have been made public, including
whether the three Americans have even been formally charged.


      Ahmadinejad and other officials have also suggested the three
could be traded for Iranians they say are in custody in the U.S.,
indicating Iran might be holding them just as bargaining chips.

      Then in May, Iran allowed the mothers of the three Americans to
visit them in Iran, releasing them temporarily from Tehran's Evin
prison for an emotional reunion at a hotel in the capital where
they were treated to a lavish meal.


      On Friday, state media reported that Ahmadinejad's intervention
helped secure Shourd's planned release in part because of the
"special viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the dignity
of women."


      Reporters had even been invited to witness the release.


      Later, the IRNA state news agency quoted the deputy chief of
communication for the president's office, Mohammed Hassan
Salilhimaram, as saying the release was postponed and details would
be announced later.


      Dowlatabadi struck a hard line on Saturday, saying none of the
Americans will be released "until legal procedures are finished."


      An official close to the prosecutor's office has said
Dowlatabadi believes the release is unacceptable because Shourd
should first stand before the court and then the amnesty will be
granted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitive nature of the issue.


      Patrick Clawson, deputy director at the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy, said the last-minute quarrels over Shroud's
release highlight the internal fissures in Iran's power structure
between Ahmadinejad and others such as the prosecutor who could see
him overreaching his authority.


      "There are all kinds of internal pressures," he said. "A case
like this shows there are various factions at play."


      Last year, the brother of Ahmadinejad's main conservative rival
took over as head of the powerful judiciary, reducing the
president's influence there.


      The president's effort to have Shourd released might have been
calculated to try to soften international criticism over a stoning
sentence for a woman convicted of adultery that has been
temporarily suspended during a review of her case by Iran's Supreme
Court.


      Ahmadinejad might also have wanted to make a gesture of goodwill
before traveling later this month to the U.N. General Assembly in
New York, where he has proposed having a televised debate with
President Barack Obama on issues dividing the two nations.


      In an apparent attempt to save face, an unidentified official in
the president's office was quoted Saturday by the IRNA news agency
as saying the postponement of Shourd's release was due to the Eid
al-Fitr holiday, though that date was known in advance.


      The American woman's lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said he remains
optimistic.

      "Since the case has turned into a political and diplomatic
issue and many officials have talked about a release, she could be
released soon," he said.


      Shourd's name was not among the official list of prisoners freed
at the end of Ramadan, further suggesting that prosecutors want the
Americans to first face trial before any kind of pardon or clemency
is considered.


      Typically, inmates released during Ramadan have already been
convicted.


      Shourd's planned release had provided a long-sought sign of hope
to the Americans' families, who have been pleading with Iranian
officials to free their children since their arrest.


      Now, they are once again left wondering what is going to happen.


      "We don't know anything," said Samantha Topping, a New York
publicist working with the families. She said the families knew
only what they were hearing from media about a delayed release.

Gallery

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Politics and Government News

Iranian judicial authorities who reversed
plans to release a detained American woman insisted Saturday that she and two friends will remain in custody until legal procedures
have been exhausted. The about-face was an embarrassment to President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, who had personally intervened to get Sarah Shourd released.

Hikers caught in the middle of Iranian political struggle

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