Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer leave for US after spending more than two years in prison on allegations of spying
Two Americans released by Iran after being held as spies for more than two years are expected to arrive back in the United States on Sunday.
Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who were arrested while hiking along the Iran's border with Iraq in 2009, said they were "eager to go home" as they boarded a plane in Oman on Saturday night.
"I can't express our joy enough of being here in Oman after the experience we have been through. The joy will stay with us forever," Bauer said.
The pair were released to Oman last Wednesday on bail totalling $1m (�648,000) a month after they were sentenced to eight years for espionage and illegally crossing Iran's border.
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, described Bauer and Fattal's release as a humanitarian gesture. The deal is understood to have been mediated by Oman and Iraq.
"Our gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman for his efforts that led to our release," Fattal said. "We would like to come back to Oman someday in happier circumstances."
Another American, Sarah Shourd, who was arrested with them and became engaged to Bauer while in jail, was released on health grounds and allowed to fly home after a similar $500,000 deal was reached a year ago.
The three, aged in their late 20s and early 30s, had all denied involvement in espionage. Officials in Washington said they unwittingly crossed the unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan after stepping off a dirt track near a waterfall.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/24/hikers-jailed-iran-us
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