Entirely predictable. And now we await the magnanimous gesture by the fanatics in Tehran of releasing these poor kids who have already spent two years in an Iranian prison:

"In connection with illegal entry into Iranian territory each was given three years in jail and in connection with the charge of cooperating with American intelligence service, each was given five years in jail," the IRINN website said, quoting an informed judiciary source.

Bauer and Fattal were arrested on July 31, 2009 near Iran's border with Iraq, along with a third American, Sarah Shourd, who was freed on $500,000 bail in September 2010 and returned home.

The trio, in their late 20s and early 30s, say they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq and, if they crossed the unmarked border into Iran, it was by mistake.

Their lawyer didn't even know the kids had been convicted. Some justice system.

Speculation is that the Iranian government will release the kids before the end of the month due to the observance of Ramadan. They are de facto hostages, of course, and because of that, I would expect that date to slip.