Sarah Shourd was put into solitary confinement without any charges, but on suspicion of espionage, and remained there until she was released on a hefty bond on September 14, 2010. During her detention in Evin Prison, Iran, Sarah Shourd was not allowed to communicate with any lawyer or family members until May 2010. According to her mother, Sarah Shourd was also denied treatment for serious health problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.
How Sarah Shourd strayed into Iranian hands
Sarah Shourd and her friends had been advised that Kurdistan was safer for tourists than other parts of Iraq and was largely undamaged by the war. They had also heard of praises of the natural scenery in Kurdistan including mountains and waterfalls. Sarah Shourd, and her friends, after reaching Hotel Miwan in Sulaymaniyah went out for hiking and camping. They visited a popular tourist destination, the Ahmed Awa waterfall and found many Iraqi families camping there. After visiting the waterfall, the team started trekking through a trail that led away from the site. The asked a tea vendor on the way on the best region to camp and followed his advice. Hours later, they encountered Iranian authorities who immediately detained Sarah Shourd and her friends on suspicions on espionage.
Sarah Shourd: Staying sane and strong
The 410 days of largely solitary confinement changed the world-perception of Sarah Shourd and she and her friends led a daily struggle to maintain sanity, and invented ways to keep their minds in place. Continuous interrogation in a blindfolded state pressing them to admit to charges of espionage were an experience for which Sarah Shourd had no preparation or expectation.
While in her cell, Sarah Shourd practiced repeating multiplication tables in her head to keep thoughts off her mother. She broke down whenever she thought of her mother and knew that she couldn't think of her mother or loved ones, if she were to stay sane and strong. As Sarah Shourd later commented after her release: ''I just had to be sure that I was strong when I went into the interrogation room, because I wanted to make sure that I didn't, that they didn't manipulate me into saying anything that I didn't want to say.''
The interrogators of Sarah Shourd had her write every detail of her life from her childhood to her time before detention. For more than two months, Sara Shourd was made to write hundreds of pages, which were torn apart by the authorities, for ''they were not good enough.''
Sarah Shourd: Love in prison
Sarah's account is that both of her male companions were extremely supportive in prison and went to extremes to try to help her. She got engaged in prison with Bauer with whom she already had a going relationship. In a moment of laxity by the guards, the two exchanged engagement rings made by pieces of string tied together. Out of prison, whether on the Oprah Winfrey Show or in other television shows, Sarah Shourd proudly wears and displays the string tied around her finger, the engagement ring given by her fiancée still languishing in Iranian prison.
