The Nation magazine is reporting the three American hikers jailed in Iran for nearly a year were arrested on the Iraqi side of the Iran-Iraq border — not in Iran as the Iranian government has claimed. The Iranian government has vowed to prosecute Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd on espionage charges since claiming they had crossed over into Iran last July. Speaking to Democracy Now!, Esther Kaplan of the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund said two Iraqis reported witnessing the arrest on their side of the border.

Esther Kaplan: “What they saw was the NAJA [Iranian police force] police officers on the Iranian side gesturing menacingly for Shane Bauer and his companions to cross over onto Iranian territory. When [the hikers] didn’t cross, the NAJA officers fired a shot, and when they still didn’t respond, they moved into Iraqi territory and arrested them.”

The Nation also reports two additional sources have revealed that the Iranian officer who likely ordered the hikers’ detention was himself arrested shortly after on charges of smuggling, kidnapping and murder. The officer is still behind bars.