Shourd: ‘Huge Burden’ Lifted After 2 Hikers Freed

NEW YORK (AP) - Sarah Shourd says a "huge burden" has been lifted now that the two American hikers held with her in Iran have been freed and returned to the U.S.

Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer landed Sunday in New York. They were freed under a $1 million bail deal after more than two years in prison.

Shourd and the two men were hiking along the Iran-Iraq border in 2009 when Iranian guards detained them. The three were later charged with spying.

Shourd was released last year and reunited Wednesday in Oman with her fellow hikers.

She said at a news conference Sunday that she had felt "it was very wrong" that she was alone when she first came home. Now that the men are back, Shourd says she's never felt as free.

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