Iran cancels release of US woman hiker

The 31-year-old Shourd was detained with Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal along the border between Iraq and Iran on July 31,2009. They have been accused of illegally crossing the border and spying.

Their families say they were hiking in Iraq’s scenic north and that if they crossed the border,they did so unwittingly. Shourd has been held in solitary confinement,and her mother has said she’s been denied treatment for serious health problems,including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.

Judicial officials have said several times that a trial would start soon,but few details have been made public,including whether the three Americans have even been formally charged.

President Ahmadinejad and other officials have also suggested the three could be traded for Iranians they say are in custody in the US,indicating Iran might be holding them just as bargaining chips.

In May,Iran allowed the mothers of the three to visit them in Iran,releasing them temporarily from Tehran’s Evin prison for a reunion at a hotel in the capital where they were treated to a lavish meal.

On Friday,state media reported that Ahmadinejad’s intervention helped secure Shourd’s release in part because of the “special viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the dignity of women”. Later,the IRNA state news agency quoted the President’s office as saying the release was postponed.

Tehran’s chief prosecutor,Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi,said the release could not take place because “judicial procedures have not been completed,” according to the semiofficial ILNA news agency. An official close to the prosecutor’s office said Dowlatabadi believes the release is unacceptable because Shourd should first appear in court and then the amnesty will be granted.