Iran Gives Hikers 8 Years

Iran's state TV is reporting that two American men already held for two years in Tehran have been sentenced to 8 years in jail each on charges of espionage and illegal entry. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been held since July 2009 after being taken into custody on the Iran-Iraq border. A third American who was taken with them, Sarah Shourd, was released in September on $500,000 bail and returned to the United States.

The station's website says Bauer and Fattal, who are both 28, have been sentenced to three years each for illegal entry into Iran and five years each for spying for the United States. It's not clear if that includes time served. They have 20 days to appeal the sentence. (More hikers Iran stories.)