USC Law Hosts Discussion with American Hiker

International Human Rights Clinic event draws 180 attendees By Gilien Silsby Sarah Shourd, who was captured and imprisoned in Iran for 410 days while hiking in the Kurdistan region, recently spoke at USC about the quest to free fellow American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. Shourd joined her mother, Nora, and Josh’s brother, Alex Fattal, for the premiere of Free Shane and Josh: An Urgent Plea for Compassion, a 25-minute documentary on their imprisonment, which was screened at the Ray Stark Theatre.

Sarah Shourd and Alex Fattal

Sponsored by the USC Gould School of Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the Center on Public Diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, the film premiere and discussion were attended by more than 180 students, friends and members of the public. “I kind of get choked up watching the film,” said Alex Fattal during a panel discussion following the screening. “It seems larger than life. That sense of disappointment is really crushing - it crushes your heart and it crushes your spirit. Frankly, our patience is up at this point. We want Shane and Josh home.” In the film, Shourd described the day they were arrested in July 2009. She was living with her fiancé, Bauer, in Damascus, Syria, where she worked as an English teacher. Bauer was a freelance photojournalist and writer. Fattal had traveled to the region to visit them. The trio took a trip to the Kurdish region of Iraq, where they visited the Ahmed Awa waterfall, a popular Kurdish tourist destination. A day later, they set off on a hike recommended by a local tea salesman. After a few hours on the trail, they encountered an armed soldier, who motioned them over. “We stepped off of the trail and walked toward that soldier," Shourd said in the documentary. “He said, 'Iran' and pointed to the ground where we were standing. And then he pointed to the trail that we had been on, and he said, 'Iraq.’ ” When the Iranian soldier arrested them, “I was in complete disbelief,” Shourd said. “I thought he must be joking because we were hiking behind a tourist site and there were no signs or evidence of a border. … This whole thing has been a huge misunderstanding. We had no idea we were in Iran.” Shourd was placed in solitary confinement and saw little of her friends. “It was horrible to withdraw from everything you love - the smell of rosemary, the sounds of birds, the touch of a mother’s hands. We said goodbye to everything.” When Shourd was released in September, she said it was one of the hardest days of her imprisonment. “I couldn’t confront the feeling that I would be released without them. I really didn’t feel any happiness about it until I saw Josh and Shane and they were so happy. They said, ‘We’re one-third free.’ Their happiness filled me with a lot of strength.”

Nora and Sarah Shourd, Alex Fattal, Jeff Kaufman, Hannah Garry and Phil Seib

Jeff Kaufman, who has produced numerous feature and television documentaries, including eight short films for Amnesty International, said he was committed to making a film about the American hikers even before Shourd was released. “Sometimes a need just crosses your path and you have to respond to the need,” Kaufman said. Hannah Garry, USC Gould professor and director of the International Human Rights Clinic, organized the effort and moderated the discussion. She said that a variety of human rights issues are at stake when it comes to Bauer and Fattal’s detention. “Studies have shown that solitary confinement such as Sarah endured is extremely hard on a human being as a social creature,” Garry said. “Some have even referred to it as rising to the level of a form of torture.” She continued: “Iran, in arbitrarily arresting and detaining Sarah, Shane and Josh for over a year without formal charges, access to a lawyer or due process is not in compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which it is party. The best way for Iran to be respected as a major world player is to abide by its international obligations, have compassion and release Shane and Josh.” Philip Seib, USC professor of journalism, public diplomacy and international relations, said that complex legal and foreign policy questions surround their detention. ”I’m not sure if anyone has learned how to deal with Iran on any level. There’s no magic formula except we need to put consistent pressure on Iran.” Bauer, Fattal and Shourd’s trial for espionage began Feb. 6. Bauer and Fattal pleaded not guilty at the five-hour hearing, while Shourd pleaded not guilty in absentia. A second trial date has been set.

 To watch the documentary, Free Shane and Josh: An Urgent Plea for Compassion, visit freethehikers.org