Clinton urges Iran to free U.S. hikers

BERLIN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Iran to immediately release three U.S. hikers, who were charged with espionage after being detained in Teheran four months ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the presidential Bellevue Palace in Berlin November 9,2009,during celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"We believe strongly that there is no evidence for any charge whatsoever," said Clinton, who was in Berlin to attend the celebrations for the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.

Clinton renewed a request "on behalf of the three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them so they can return home."

In July, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were arrested by Iranian security forces after disappearing along the Iran-Iraq border.

At the time, Iran said the trio were journalists working for pro-Israeli news websites.

Recently, Teheran's Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the official news agency IRNA that investigations into the case were continuing.