Freed from Iranian Prison, U.S. Hikers Are Coming Home

The controversial case of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American hikers who were sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, is finally seeing its resolve. After more than two years of detainment, both men are slated to arrive stateside on Sunday, September 25.

Before boarding their flight to the U.S. from Oman, the Gulf state that assisted in mediating their release, Fattal told reporters in a brief statement, "We hope to someday return to this wonderful country, but for now we are eager to go home at last," reports Huffington Post. We bet they were more than eager.

Both Bauer, a freelance journalist, and Fattal, an environmentalist, were arrested along with friend Sarah Shourd on July 31, 2009 while hiking near the ambiguous border between Iran and Iraq. Shourd was released after 410 days of solitary confinement, but Bauer and Fattal were recently charged with espionage and illegal entry into the country. After much pressure from supporters, politicians and activists - including Muhammad Ali - their sentences were lifted.

A gesture of Islamic mercy, as dubbed by Iran's Foreign Ministry, the men's release from Tehran's Evin prison transpired under a $1 million bail deal. Bauer and Fattal arrived in Oman on Wednesday and were reunited with relatives and Shourd, whom Bauer asked to marry him during their imprisonment.

All three ex-prisoners are alumni of UC Berkeley. Shourd grew up in Los Angeles and resided in San Francisco post-college. Bauer has penned for the LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Bauer described the long overdue reunion with his loved ones to reporters today. "The joy of embracing them all after so long will stay with us forever," he said.