Families of Americans Held in Iran Plot Each Move

FILE - This undated file photo, released by freethehikers.org, Aug. 20, 2009, shows Americans Shane...

FILE - This undated file photo, released by freethehikers.org, Aug. 20, 2009, shows Americans Shane Bauer, left, and Sarah Shourd. Iranian state news agency IRNA said Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 that Iran has charged Bauer, Shourd and Josh Fattal with espionage. (AP Photo/freethehikers.org, File) NO SALES

(AP)

The families of three Americans accused of espionage in Iran are attempting the delicate feat of keeping a spotlight trained on the plight of their loved ones while trying to avoid the tangled politics of the tense U.S.-Iran relationship.

Even as the Americans' captivity passed the 100-day point this week, the families of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal together have orchestrated a sophisticated public relations campaign that has included joint family statements, a Web site and online petition, even a logo. And they have been careful not to criticize Iran or its leaders, instead repeating requests for compassion and leniency for three young people they say simply went astray when they crossed into Iran while on a hike in a part of northern Iraq popular with tourists.

"We just keep re-emphasizing, for good reason, their innocence," Josh Fattal's mother, Laura Fattal of suburban Philadelphia, said Tuesday. "We reiterate their academic studies, their personal relationships with so many people around the world. ... We're responding thoughtfully, we believe."

In late July, Iranian authorities took Bauer, 27, into custody along with Shourd, 31, and Fattal, 27. All three are University of California, Berkeley, graduates; Bauer and Shourd had been living in Damascus, Syria, and Fattal was visiting them.

The espionage accusation was the first signal that Tehran intends to put the trio on trial, raising concerns they could be used as bargaining chips during deadlocked negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear program.

In addition to the Web site freethehikers.org and several rounds of media interviews, family members have attended a series of vigils around the U.S. and posted regular updates to a Facebook page.

"There's not a crystal ball telling us how our decisions will fall," Bauer's mother, Cindy Hickey, told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just have to make the best decisions we can."