WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR GOVERNMENT:

Let our government know that you care about Shane, Sarah and Josh and encourage your Congressional representatives to get involved in efforts to secure their release.

We suggest the following template:

Dear (INSERT PUBLIC SERVANT’S NAME HERE),

I am writing to express my support for every possible effort to secure the release of three young Americans who have been detained in Iran since July 31, 2009.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were hiking near the Ahmed Awa waterfall in a safe area of Iraqi Kurdistan that is increasingly popular with Western tourists. News reports conflict as to whether they were taken while on Iraqi territory or had mistakenly crossed the unmarked border with Iran when they were detained. Iran has kept them in near isolation from the outside world..

I know that the United States has no formal diplomatic relationship with Iran. However, I appreciate the efforts the US government is making and ask that those efforts be redoubled so that Shane, Sarah and Josh can return home immediately. Their continued detention is outrageous, unjust and in defiance of Iranian law and international norms.

Shane, Sarah and Josh share a love of travel and a sense of adventure, but they would not intentionally have entered Iran. They all have great respect for different cultures and societies and for the law and I hope their situation can be resolved quickly.

These three young people and their anxious families deserve to be reunited as soon as possible. For that to happen, they need your support, regardless of the broader issues dividing the United States and Iran. I urge you to do everything within your power to help them.

Thank you for your dedication to public service and for your attention to this case.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR LOCATION

Send your letter to your Representative and Senators, as well as to Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama.

Mail your letter to Secretary of State Clinton at this address:

The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary, Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

To send your message to President Obama, submit it via the White House: online contact form, or mail your letter to this address:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500