CNN, 2 Oct 2011 – The Iranian attorney for two American hikers released last week said Thursday he was briefly detained by security forces following a raid on his home.
Masoud Shafiee told CNN that security forces searched his apartment on Tuesday and took him to Evin Prison in Tehran for questioning.
It was the same prison where his clients, Americans Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, were held for two years.
He said security forces seized his files, including those regarding the case of Fattal and Bauer, and his computer’s hard drive.
“I do not know what they were looking for,” Shafiee said.
Fattal, Bauer and Bauer’s now-fiancee, Sarah Shourd, were arrested after straying across the unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran in July 2009. Shourd was released in 2010, but Bauer and Fattal were freed last week after 781 days in captivity and a trial for espionage that Bauer said was based on “ridiculous lies.”
Shortly after their release, Fattal and Bauer thanked numerous people who helped secure their freedom, including their attorney. Shafiee “was never allowed to represent us properly, but he never gave up,” Fattal said.
Security forces questioned Shafiee about the two Americans, he said.
“They were very polite and respectful. But the very act of taking a lawyer to prison and searching his home just because he had done his duty seems excessive and reflects negatively on Iran’s judiciary,” Shafiee said.
Before he was released, Shafiee said he was asked to write a letter guaranteeing that he would appear in court whenever he was requested to do so.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, allegations Shafiee may face.