Josh Fattal

This is a slideshow of Josh Fattal, one of the hikers, along with Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, who has been detained in Iran since July 31, 2009, when news reports say they accidentally crossed an unmarked border during a hiking trip in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. They were in a peaceful region of Iraq that is increasingly popular with Western tourists.

Josh Fattal, 27, is an environmentalist who worked for three years at the Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove, Oregon, which teaches sustainable living skills. From January to June 2009, Josh was a Teaching Fellow with the International Honors Program (IHP) Health and Community study abroad program in Switzerland, India, China, and South Africa. Josh and his elder brother grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He spent his junior year of college on an IHP study abroad program in the UK, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Mexico and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004 with a degree in environmental economics and policy from the College of Natural Resources. Josh was visiting Sarah and Shane in Damascus when they went on their trip.

The three young Americans, all graduates of the University of California at Berkeley, are believed to be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran. They have not been charged with any crime, have had no contact with their families, and have not been granted their right to consular access.

Shane, Josh and Sarah care greatly about the world. They admire and respect different cultures and religions and share a love of travel that has taken them to many countries. Thats why they went to Kurdistan, not because they wanted to enter Iran.

The families and friends of the three hikers created this site to tell the story of Shane, Josh and Sarah and keep the world informed about their situation.

We hope the Iranian authorities understand that theres just one reason why our children and friends happened to be in Iran: because they made a regrettable mistake and got lost. Please let them return home as soon as possible.


For more information about the hikers and how you can help secure their release, please visit:
http://www.freethehikers.org

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[happinesson]

destiny brought them there..sad story..i hope destiny will bring them back to their love ones. my prayer is with you..

[agent1up]

this is why these 3 hikers need to be prisoned in our supermax...why do i have a sickening feeling these 3 will be made out to be victims....lock them up!!!!!!!!

[Prickler32]

Does ANYONE know why these three would pick the Iranian boarder for a hiking trip?

[mattsf2003]

According to the taxi driver & the families they were visiting, they warned them "repeatedly" to not venture out where they went...

Sorry to say, but...accident my ass.

[1longname]

pretty stupid to hike on the border of Iran & Iraq

shouldn't have been there in the first place! there is a war going on there!

[DarthTeffet]

God bless you!!!