Boxing champ Muhammad Ali is asking Iran to release two American hikers held since 2009 on spy charges. Ali released to The Associated Press a letter he wrote to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ali’s letter asks Ayatollah Ali Khameini to release Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who have been held on espionage charges since July 2009, when they were arrested while hiking in northern Iraq near the Iranian border.
A third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was released on bail in September 2010.