I am a bit reluctant to post this on JazzHouston, but my close friend, Ben Felleman, is cousins with one of the three hikers that has been held by Iran for one year this coming Saturday.

This post is meant as a PSA and I hope nobody is offended by my posting it here. It is not intended to stir any type of political debate.

We are having an event in the Montrose area on Saturday to raise awareness of this story and to also honor (and pray) for the three hikers who were taken into captivity by the Iranian military.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 25, 2010 --
FREE THE HIKERS - MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT: One year vigil marking the detainment of the three Americans who have been detained in Iran.

WHEN: July 31st 2010 from 12:30-2:30pm

WHERE: Taft Street Coffee Art Center, 2115 Taft St. Houston, TX

BACKGROUND: Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal have been detained in Iran since July 31, 2009, when news reports say they crossed an unmarked border during a hiking trip in Iraqi Kurdistan.

One YEAR of detention is an unnecessarily long time to drag out the suffering of Shane, Sarah, Josh and their families. They have been denied access to their lawyer and have been virtually isolated from the outside world. The Houston community is uniting for a Vigil to mark one year of unjust detainment at Taft Street Coffee/Arts Center. A moment of silence will be held at 1:33PM, the exact moment of their detention.
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: If you would like to interview Cindy Hickey, Nora Shourd, and Laura Fattal, the mothers of the three hikers before the event, please get in touch:

Ben Felleman
bfelleman@sbcglobal.net
713-826-1350

Alex Fattal
alfattal@gmail.com
541.221.6955

For more information about the hikers, including personal biographies of Shane, Sarah and Josh, please visit www.freethehikers.org

bump