Ali Kantouri

“I was arrested in the winter of 2007 and spent five months in Qezel Hessar Prison, before I was released on bail.”

“I finally received a court summons in spring 2009 and attended my first hearing on 10 June - just two days before the presidential elections.”

“A week before my court hearing, my brother Abolfazl was arrested and the authorities told my family that they would not release him until I showed up in court.”

“I left Iran in March 2010 through the north-western border.”

“It took me a long week to be able to cross the border safely into Turkey.”

“And during those first three months hiding in Iran, I had a lot of opportunity to rest and do little else.”

“I managed to escape to Turkey where I spent the next six months.”

“I arrived here after almost a decade of work in the reformist media in Iran.”