Iranian TV: Elkins Park native Josh Fattal sentenced to eight years in jail

Iran’s state television station is now reporting that Josh Fattal, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and his friend Shane Bauer have been sentenced to eight years in jail.

The report says an Iranian court handed down a sentence of three-years each for entering Iran illegally in 2009, and five-years each for spying for the U.S. 

The families of Fattal and Bauer say the two were hiking with Sarh Shourd (later released) in northern Iraq when they were detained by Iranian authorities. On a website calling for the hikers release the families state that either Iranian forces entered Iraq to arrest the three young Americans or they strayed across the poorly marked border by mistake.

Josh Fattal grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania before attending and graduating in 2004 from UC-Berkeley and later moving to Cottage Grove, Oregon.

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