Iran 'releases female US hiker Sarah Shourd'

Sarah Shourd, 32, has been living with Shane in Damascus, where she teaches English and is learning Arabic. She previously taught as part of the Iraqi Student Project, a program which gives Iraqi students living in Damascus the skills to continue their education in US schools. She was on a break from her teaching responsibilities for a week, and she and Shane decided to take a hiking trip with their friends Josh and Shon. Sarah has written articles on travel and social issues reflecting her time in Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen and Mexico. Sarah, who has an older brother and sister, was born in Oak Park, Illinois and grew up in Los Angeles, California. She attended UC Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lived after graduating until moving to Damascus with Shane.

 Release of Sarah

Sarah Shourd was detained near Iran's border with Iraq on 31 July 2009, along with two American men, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

The Tehran chief prosecutor said at the weekend that Ms Shourd would be freed when $500,000 (£325,000) bail was paid, and could leave the country. As an act of clemency to mark the end of month of Ramadan. Iranian officials believe that sarah and her collegues were on spying mission of America an arch enemy of Iran.

Medical problems
The 31-year-old Shourd has told her mother that she is suffering from serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
The US state department said it was aware of reports that one of the prisoners would be released, but could not confirm them. America has no official presence in Iran, and the official said that the US government had heard nothing from the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in the country.
The hotel named in the text message is where the three Americans' mothers were allowed to visit them in May on a high-profile trip to Iran. In a joint statement, the mothers of the three prisoners said that they were hoping the reports were true.
"We have seen the news reports and are urgently seeking further information. We hope and pray that the reports are true and that this signals the end of all three of our children's long and difficult detention.

"Shane, Sarah and Josh are all innocent and we continue to call for their immediate release, so that they can return home together and be reunited with our families."
'Unjust detention'
Their detention has added further strain to the already fractious relationship between Iran and the US, with Iranian leaders repeatedly attempting to link their fate to that of several Iranians being held by US authorities.
Barack Obama, the US president, and Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, have both called for the release of the hikers over the past year.  Obama said the trio were "simply open-minded and adventurous young people who represent the best of America, and of the human spirit".
"I call on the Iranian government to immediately release Sarah, Shane and Josh," he said, adding that their "unjust detention has nothing to do with the issues that continue to divide the United States and the international community from the Iranian government."
Ghanbar Naderi, a journalist for the Iran Daily newspaper, said that the other prisoners would be released shortly. "The female prisoner is going to be released," he said. "I can assure you that the other two will also be released on compassionate grounds."
He insisted that there had been no deal between the US and Iranian governments on the fate of the hikers.
"There is no backroom deal," he said. "Of course the government listens to international 

opinion."