American hostage teeter-totter in Iran

The two American hikers arrested over two years ago by Iran were going to be released in the next few days, said Ahmadinejad thern the High Court voided the release, saying Ahmadinejad has no authority to release anybody, let alone the two American Zionist spies.  So for the near future our young hikers remain at Evin prison, waiting even more days to see the light of freedom.




From The New York Times September 14 by David D. Kirkpatrick 

In Rebuke to Iran’s President, Courts Void Release of Hikers  

CAIRO — To pave the way for his annual visit to the United Nations,Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced with great fanfare this week the imminent release of two American hikers sentenced to eight years for espionage.

Not 24 hours later, Iran’s courts issued a stinging public rebuke: they said he did not have the authority to free the prisoners.

The fate of the two American hikers remains uncertain, since the courts said they would review the defendants’ application for bail. But the back and forth has delivered a blow to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s already diminished standing at home, allowing his adversaries within Iran’s system to undercut his credibility as he prepared to mingle with the heads of state and to court international news media at the General Assembly gathering next week.

“The conservatives are trying to establish the fact that Ahmadinejad is not their boss,” said Vali Nasr, a professor at Tufts University and an expert in Iranian affairs. “He is a weakened president, and they are perfectly comfortable embarrassing him. It is a signal that it is perfectly O.K. to attack him, and you might get brownie points for doing it.”

The very public rebuke by Iran’s conservative establishment was the latest reminder of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s deep split with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once his most ardent ally.

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