US hiker told to return to Iran for trial

Iran has ordered an American woman to return to the country and stand trial alongside two other Americans accused of spying.

The Americans were arrested on July 31, 2009, after crossing the border from northern Iraq’s scenic Kurdish region, where their families say they were vacationing and hiking.

Since her release on bail in September, Sarah Shourd has said they did not intentionally cross the unmarked border. She returned to the United States after 14 months in a Tehran jail.

Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi said a Revolutionary Court in Tehran had told Shourd to return and stand trial next month.

Her fiance Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal remain in prison in Iran as they were not released on bail.