Iran cancels planned release of female US hiker: prosecutor

Tehran: Iran has cancelled the planned release on Saturday of female US hiker Sarah Shourd due to unresolved legal issues, Tehran's public prosecutor was quoted as saying by ILNA news agency.

"Because the judicial process has not been fulfilled in the mentioned American defendant's case, (her) release has been ruled out," said the prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi.

Commenting on reports about Shourd's expected release on Saturday, he said: "The judiciary does not validate the published news and naturally any decision about the defendants will depend on carrying out the judicial process."