Cindy Hickey, Shane Bauer's mom, goes on hunger strike

By Hart Van Denburg Thu., May 19 2011 at 8:56 AM

Categories: International

Cindy Hickey, right, and Shourd were allowed to visit their sons this time last year.

Fed up to the point of desperation over Iran's interminable detention of their two sons, Cindy Hickey of Pine City and Laura Fattal of California have announced that they are going on a hunger strike to try and win release for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

"We have not had any news about Shane and Josh for many months, and we are terrified that they have now gone on hunger strike to protest against this latest, devastating delay," said Hickey told CNN.

Bauer, who is originally from Onamia, was living in the Middle East and working as a freelance journalist when he and two friends including Fattal were detailed while hiking in the mountains along the Kurdistan-Iran border two years ago.

They've been accused of spying, and their trial was finally scheduled to start last week. But authorities never brought the pair to court and offered no explanation for yet another delay in their case.

Bauer, left, at a court hearing last year.
"It is a dangerous thing," Hickey, 50, said of the mothers' plans to fast. "It's 21 months (that Bauer and Fattal have been gone), we don't have them home. We need people to stand with us. We're desperate. ... It affects our lives in a huge way, all of us, and we need for it to end."

Hickey told AP that she and Shourd believed their sons were also on a hunger strike.

Sarah Shourd, the third member of the group, who his also Bauer's fiance, was released last year. She has said she plans to join the mothers on their hunger strike.

The last time Hickey and Shourd saw their sons in person was a year ago today, when Iranian authorities granted the hiker's mothers visas for a quick visit.