UC Berkeley grad Sarah Shourd was released today on $500,000 bail. "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Shourd was being released on compassionate grounds because of health reasons," reports AP (via CBS 5) "Her mother says she has serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells."

Shourd was transferred to the Swiss Embassy, "which handles United States interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran," notes LA Times. She will then travel to Oman, where her mother will be waiting.

Shourd, 32, along with fiance Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, were arrested while hiking along the Iran-Iraq border on July 31, 2009 , "accused of illegally crossing the border and spying."