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Minnesota's two U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, are criticizing Iran's sentencing of  Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal to eight years in prison on charges of spying and illegal entering the country. 

Bauer is a Minnesota native, and Klobuchar said Sunday that she had spoken to Bauer's mother, Cindy Hickey of Pine City, and said the family is staying strong despite his sentence.

"I personally have talked to the Swiss ambassador. We have written letters and worked through any channel that we can including the Iranian ambassador," Klobuchar told MPR. "I pledged to her to do anything I can, and mostly the two of us talked about how we can best get the word out, and get [Iran] to show some compassion." 

Simply verifying the facts of the ruling have been a challenge because the United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran.

"We couldn't even confirm the sentence for about a day," Klobuchar said. "There were rumours leaking out that they'd been sentenced to eight years but the mom and the lawyer couldn't even find out the sentence. So this isn't about our own contacts with Iranians, this is also about the Iranian system of justice, which tends to be more secretive, and it's impossible to find things out."

Franken issued a formal statement on Sunday lamenting the ruling.

"I'm deeply disappointed by the news of Shane and Josh being sentenced by the Iranian judiciary," he said.  "Our thoughts and prayers remain with their families, and I will continue to remain in close communication with Shane Bauer's family, who have been so strong throughout this difficult ordeal. We will continue doing everything possible to see Shane and Josh released and reunited with their families."

Bauer and Fattal were arrested in July 2009 near the Iraq-Iran border along with a third American, Sarah Shourd. They and their families have denied the spying charges.

The two were arrested in July 2009 near the
Iraq-Iran border along with a third American, Sarah Shourd, who was released in September on $500,000 bail and returned to the U.S. All
three deny the charges, saying they were only hiking near the ill-defined border.

Gallery

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of spying and illegal entering the country. Bauer is a Minnesota native.

Klobuchar, Franken call for Americans' release

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