American Hikers Sentenced to Eight Years in Iranian Prison; Libyan Rebels Close on Capital of Tripoli
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN Saturday Morning. It's August 20th. Good morning everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is off this morning. We have new word on the fate of two American hikers held in Iran. We'll have the latest court ruling. It is breaking news out of Iran at this hour. Also, rebel fighters are closing in on L capitol of Tripoli. Is its leader, Moammar Gadhafi, going to stay and fight, or could he possibly leave? And we've just gotten this dramatic video showing armed rioters shooting at police in the British city of Birmingham. So what's the latest in that investigation? We'll have a live report. Let's get right to the breaking news of Iran. Iranian state television is reporting that two Americans accused of spying have been sentenced to eight years in prison. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested after crossing into Iran during a 2009 hiking trip from Iraq. A third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was also arrested, but she was later released last fall for medical reasons. Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr joins us now by phone from Tehran. We're going to have him in just a moment, but first we want to turn to our very own Susan Candiotti, who also joins us by phone from New York City. She's been in touch with the families of these two men. She joins us now by phone. And Susan, I know you're trying feverishly to speak to these families. When was the last time you spoke to them or their representatives, and what did they tell you?</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It would have been within the last couple of months. More often than not the families, when there's a situation like this, prefer to work through a representative that is speaking on their behalf. And it's not uncommon at all to discuss things among themselves, the three moms and their relatives, figure out exactly what they want to say, and then put out the word, initially, anyway, through their media representative, who is based in New York. So we're working all of those angles. I've reached out by phone to all of the families, and of course, other methods as well, as well as the representative. So I'm quite sure that's what's happening now is they're speaking among themselves to gather information, figure out what they can from all of their sources before they respond in some way, Alina.</s>CHO: Susan, I think there were a lot of people here in the United States who thought that these hikers would ultimately be released. You've been following this case very closely. How surprised are you that they've now been sentenced to eight years in prison item.</s>CANDIOTTI: I'm sorry, Alina, could you repeat that part again, please?</s>CHO: You've been following this case very closely, and I'm curious to know, how surprised are you by this ruling today, that they'll be sentenced to eight years in prison?</s>CANDIOTTI: Well, unfortunately, not surprised. Certainly, the hope on the part of the family members here has been that perhaps they would have been sentenced to time served, if they received a sentence at all. That's not the case. Now, this is clearly a much longer sentence than the families would have expected. But certainly there is always the possibility of appeal. How long that could take would certainly be another matter altogether.</s>CHO: Susan, they have 20 days --</s>CANDIOTTI: You also have to keep in mind that this is coming down during the time of Ramadan, and so it is much harder to get information. The courts there are closed at this time. Our man who is in Iran, you'll be speaking with shortly, is trying to get information. It's very difficult because of the time change now. So they were hoping that during the time of Ramadan that there would have been forgiveness granted, that they would have been released because of that.</s>CHO: Interesting.</s>CANDIOTTI: Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.</s>CHO: Right, of course. And we should mention that I'm seeing now crossing our wire that they do have 20 days to appeal this verdict. You can bet there will be an appeal, and we do want to get -- and Susan, stay with us, but we are still waiting for our reporter from Iran. Susan, I just want to remind our viewers about this case. Take us back to 2009 when these three hikers were taken into custody. What happened?</s>CANDIOTTI: Indeed. Covering this from day one, they were on a vacation. These are three young people who lived overseas. They knew each other. One of them had even written as a freelance journalist for various publications, one a social worker. They all worked overseas. And they decided to go on holiday. They went to this particular area because they had heard that it was very popular, very scenic with hikers, and so they said they went out this one day. There's some dispute as to whether some people had warn them that this might be a dangerous area. They maintained that they did not have that information. But when they went out, they said that they were beckoned over a particular unmarked part of the trail, beckoned to cross over this line, so to speak, an invisible line, but someone with the Iranian authorities, and at that time, they were taken into custody. Ever since then, for quite some time, to have any sort of representation, eventually to meet with the Swiss consular, because the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran. And so eventually they did. Now, they have only had -- they only had one visit from their mothers that came about a year after they were held. And not long after that, Sarah Shourd was released, who was the only female among them, and she -- because of health reasons. She came back to the United States and has been working very hard on behalf of their release ever since.</s>CHO: Susan, I know you've been watching this case very closely and I know you're trying to talk to the families of these hikers. If anyone can, you can. So we know you'll be watching this case closely and we'll be checking with back with you throughout the hour. Our Susan Candiotti live for us by phone. Susan, thank you. We want to move now to Libya where NATO planes hit more targets around the capital of Tripoli overnight. Libyan officials are denying that Moammar Gadhafi and his family are looking to leave Tripoli, that as rebel leaders say they are closing in on the Libyan leader's Tripoli stronghold. Our Sara Sidner has more.</s>SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a 40-minute drive from Tripoli, rebels battle their way closer to the capital. This is the city of Zawiya. On this day, even if you could not see the firefight close up, you could hear its deafening sounds reverberating from the eastern part of the city. (on camera): So it is just getting too close. There are snipers on tops of building. There's loud bangs. There's artillery fire. There are mortars. So we've got to get out of here. (voice-over): Despite the firing around him, a rebel fighter who did not want to be identified to protect his family was confident of victory. (on camera): Considering the fighting is fierce here in Zawiya, how long do you think you could push into Tripoli?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully, in a couple of days.</s>SIDNER: A couple of days?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of days or one week maybe.</s>SIDNER: You think it is that soon?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so because we are controlling 80 percent of Zawiya.</s>SIDNER (voice-over): But to push forward, they need to secure the whole city for Gadhafi's army is doing everything it can to keep a hold of this strategically important town. (on camera): Why is Zawiya so important?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of oil factory.</s>SIDNER (voice-over): Zawiya has one of the last remaining functional oil refineries in the country and is the most direct supply route to the capital, Tripoli. As of now, the rebels have captured the refinery. We are told there is a large amount of oil still left in the storage tanks. But the opposition fighters say, for them, this is not about oil, it's about securing their homes and neighborhoods. Most of the town is shuttered, abandoned by frightened residents, but some families remain. This family is staying put, including the children, even though missiles and mortars are falling around their home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): A person feels unsafe and can't rest because of the</s>SIDNER: She and the rebel fighters are convinced the end of the Gadhafi regime is near. But most here agree, trying to take control of nearby Tripoli will be one hell of a fight. Sara Sidner, CNN, Zawiya, Libya.</s>CHO: And there's continuing fallout from Israel's response to Thursday's deadly bus attack, and it's putting a strain on relations between Egypt and the Jewish state. Egypt has yanked its ambassador to Israel and is demanding an investigation into the death of three of its security forces. This morning a senior Israeli defense official says that investigation is now underway. Egypt is one of the few Arab countries that shares diplomatic ties with Israel. Check this out. We have some newly released surveillance video from police in London. They are trying to identify armed rioters who were caught on tape shooting at police during the days of civil unrest that roiled a number of cities in England. Earlier this morning, I spoke to CNN senior correspondent Dan Rivers from London about the riots' aftermath and the release of these images.</s>DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This video was actually from the 9th of August. It's only just been released today. But for the last few days, there has been complete calm here. They have surged the number of police officers in London and other big cities, completely flooded the streets with officers on horses and just, you know, lots of officers on foot as well. That seems to have kept a lid on the trouble for now.</s>CHO: West Midland's police say more than 500 people have been arrested and a third of those have already been formally charged. Well, 18 years ago, they were teenagers, sentenced to prison as child murders. But this morning, the so-called West Memphis Three are free men. Yesterday, they cut a complicated plea deal with Arkansas prosecutors allowing them to walk out of prison. Now, the trio were convicted for the killing of three Cub Scouts back in 1993, a crime they've long maintained they never committed. So listen to what they had to say after the judge amended their sentences to time served.</s>JASON BALDWIN, "WEST MEMPHIS THREE" DEFENDANT: In the beginning, we told nothing but the truth, that we were innocent, and they sent to us prison for the rest of our lives for it. And then we had to come here, and the only thing the state would do for us would say, hey, we'll let you go only if you admit guilt. And that's not justice no matter how you look at it.</s>DAMIEN ECHOLS, "WEST MEMPHIS THREE" DEFENDANT: I'm just tired. This has been going on for over 18 years. And it's been an absolute living hell.</s>JESSIE MISSKELLEY, JR., "WEST MEMPHIS THREE" DEFENDANT: Even when you're in prison, it goes on every day. You have to worry about your own safety. It don't matter what crime it is, you still got to worry about your safety, regardless.</s>CHO: Prosecutors agreed to the deal after an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that could have led to new trials. Well, state police in Indiana say a sixth person has now died following last weekend's stage collapse at the Indiana state fair. That dramatic video is obviously been played many, many times over the week. Five people earlier in the week were killed and 40 others injured. And now this sixth person has died. It's a 22-year-old student from nearby Ball State University who died yesterday morning from the severe injuries she suffered in last Saturday's disaster. In Pittsburgh, flash flooding is blamed in the deaths of a mother and her two children. They were found trapped in their vehicle that had been submerged in the floodwaters yesterday. The victims haven't been formally identified yet. Authorities are still looking for another woman who went missing during the storm. More severe storms are on the way for the Ohio valley. Reynolds Wolf has details on that. Plus, a look at where tropical storm Harvey will make landfall today. Also ahead, the GOP presidential race is heating up with a crowded field. Candidates are there, trying to set themselves apart, including Governor Rick Perry. We'll tell you who is reaching out to voters today.