Two Americans accused of spying in Iran may be tried in public, it was revealed on Sunday, as date for espionage case was set for May.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, were arrested on July 31, 2009 near Iran’s border with Iraq, will next appear in court on May 11 an official was quoted saying by the official IRNA news agency.
A third American, Sarah Shourd, returned home after being released on $500,000 (£314,386) bail in September due to health concerns and will be tried in her absence.
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They were initially arrested for illegal entry, before Iran added charges of espionage, a crime which can carry the death penalty.
Bauer and Fattal, who are being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Jail, pleaded not guilty to the charges, in a behind closed doors hearing in Tehran last month.
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However in unexpected move the trial may be open to the public Alireza Avaiee, head of Tehran's prosecutor's office told IRNA.
"The next trial session of three Americans who have been charged by espionage will be held on May 11 in Tehran's revolutionary and general court," he added.
The Americans claimed that they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq and may have crossed the unmarked border into Iran by mistake.
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At the last hearing the Tehran prosecutor’s office claimed it had “compelling evidence” that three were cooperating with US intelligence agencies.
However their defence lawyer, who was barred from seeing his clients for four months, claimed there was no substance to the charges.
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A trial date set for last November was postponed at the last minute due to the absence of Shourd, who has met both President Barack Obama and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in America since her release.
President Obama described her return to America as "bittersweet" due to the continued detention of the other two, one of whom is Shourd's fiancé.