From freethehikers.org:

FREE THE HIKERS SHANE BAUER, SARAH SHOURD, JOSH FATTAL

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd have been detained in Iran since July 31, 2009, when news reports say they accidentally crossed an unmarked border during a hiking trip in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. They were in a peaceful region of Iraq that is increasingly popular with Western tourists.

The three young Americans, all graduates of the University of California at Berkeley, are believed to be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran. They have not been charged with any crime, have had no contact with their families, and have not been granted their right to consular access.

Shane, Josh and Sarah care greatly about the world. They admire and respect different cultures and religions and share a love of travel that has taken them to many countries. That’s why they went to Kurdistan, not because they wanted to enter Iran.

From Reuters via CPJ:

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran's Arabic-language television network Al Alam said on Wednesday it has again been taken off air by a Saudi-based satellite operator amid simmering tensions between Shi'ite Iran and U.S.-allied Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia.

Television

Analysts say Riyadh and several other Arab governments allied to the United States are worried about a rise in Tehran's influence in the region through Shi'ite minorities.

Al Alam said in November that both the Saudi-based Arabsat network and Nilesat in Cairo had halted its broadcasting. In a statement Wednesday, it said Arabsat later resumed broadcasting, before halting it again. It did not give details.

via Iran’s Al Alam TV says taken off air by Arab operator | Reuters.

Meanwhile, “Iran continues its war against journalists,” CPJ reports:

A new CPJ survey finds that Iran continues to wage an aggressive campaign to imprison independent and opposition journalists. Iranian authorities are now jailing at least 47 journalists, more than any single country since 1996. CPJ calls on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, to end the campaign to silence critics.
• More on Iran
• Video report

From Jano Charbel, Al-Masry Al-Youm,

The right to strike is clearly stipulated in Egypt's labor law, but can Egyptian workers really exercise this right? Two recent incidents indicate this right is exercisable in theory or law (de jure) but not in practice (de facto): a bus workers’ strike – which was thwarted by the police, and the ongoing strike at the Tanta Flax and Oils Company – which is not recognized by the state-controlled General Union for Textile Workers.

On Wednesday a general strike planned by some 48,000 workers at the Public Transport Authority (PTA) – including bus drivers, fare-collectors, engineers, mechanics and maintenance personnel – was aborted due to pressures and threats from security apparatuses. Strikes are prohibited, by virtue of a Prime Ministerial Decree complementing the Labor Law, “in strategic and vital sites” including public transportation, amongst a host of others.

via Strike with no beginning, strike with no end | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today’s News from Egypt.

From CPJ:

Jordan’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest judicial authority, issued an opinion last week stating that Web sites can be classified as “publications” and recommending that the Press and Publications Law be extended to online news sites and other electronic media. This decision, while not yet the law of the land, sets a legal precedent that lower courts can reference in future rulings, Jordan Bar Association official Ahmad Ghannam told The Jordan Times.

via Jordan may extend repressive law to electronic media – Blog – Committee to Protect Journalists.

Iran is really not doing well human rights-wise. How can we help instead of just criticize? (I’m really asking)

BBC News – Norway and Sweden censure Iran over Nobel prizewinner.

Norway and Sweden have censured Iran for its treatment of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

They say that her situation is of “great concern”. The rebuke comes on the day Nobel prizes are presented.

Scandinavian officials say Iran confiscated the Nobel medal awarded to Ms Ebadi but later returned it. Tehran previously denied these claims.

Ms Ebadi has criticised Tehran’s handling of unrest after June’s disputed presidential election.

In a joint statement, foreign ministers Carl Bildt of Sweden and Jonas Gahr Stoere of Norway said: “We react very strongly to the treatment to which Shirin Ebadi has been subjected.” – Read on

Here is a great letter from Joel Simon of Committee to Protect Journalists. He helped me out quite a bit after my arrest when Mohammed was still in prison.

Our best to you, Shane, Sarah and Josh. May you be safe and sane and come home soon – and same to all prisoners of thought, expression and politics.

A letter to the American hikers being held in Iran
By Joel Simon/Executive Director

The families of Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, the three hikers detained in Iran, said today they are concerned about their children’s emotional well-being after nearly four months in prison. They asked supporters to send letters, which they will seek to deliver to them in Evin Prison in Tehran, where the three are being held.

We know from speaking with journalists who have endured imprisonment that these letters provide an enormous emotional lift, helping to break the overwhelming feeling of isolation. If you would like to write a letter, you can send it Free the Hikers, P.O. Box 15065, Duluth, MN 55815, USA. You can also send an e-mail to letterstohikers@gmail.com.

More information is available at freetheihkers.org.

The letter I sent is below:

November 16, 2009

Dear Shane, Josh, and Sarah,

The people who are holding you in Evin Prison may want you to believe you are alone and the world has forgotten you.

Don’t believe them.

There are thousands and thousands of people around the world who are thinking of you every day and working for your safe return home.

I wish you all strength and look forward to the day very soon when I have a chance to meet you in person.

All my best,

Joel Simon

Executive Director