AP Interview: Hiker released from Iran prison says ‘life will not resume’ until other 2 freed

AP Interview: Hiker talks of 410 days in Iran jail

NEW YORK — Her 410 days of solitary confinement in an Iran prison were mostly cramped quarters and endless monotony, but Sarah Shourd chooses to savor the few moments of joy: a proposal from her boyfriend and a chocolate birthday cake.

Shourd, her boyfriend Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal were captured in 2009 while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border. Shourd talked about her experiences Thursday with The Associated Press in one of her first interviews since her release Sept. 14.

She says she was interrogated for months. She did multiplication tables in her head and ran or did jumping jacks through tears to maintain her strength.

Shourd says her mission is to be the voice of the men to make sure the world doesn’t forget them and to work for their freedom.