DUBAI: Two Americans jailed on espionage charges are expected to receive their verdict within the week, their lawyer said, ending hopes that they would be released after the final hearing in the case on Sunday. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been held in Iran's Evin Prison since shortly after their arrest along the border with Iraq two years ago Sunday. The case has added to tensions between the United States and Iran that were already high over issues like Tehran's disputed nuclear program. lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, had hoped that Sunday's final court session would result in their immediate release because it coincided with the two-year anniversary of their arrest and came near the start this week of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when pardons are traditionally handed down. Shafiei said he and the two Americans presented closing arguments in their defense and the court announced the end of its hearings. “The judge said the court will announce its verdict about my clients within one week,” Shafiei told The Associated Press. He said he was still hopeful that, if found guilty, they would be sentenced to time already served and released. BM
