British academy avoids prison in Iran by crawling through mountains

Kameel Ahmad had been sentenced two months earlier for co-operating with a hostile government, charges he had denied.

He decided to leave while he was on the appeal of his sentence, Periscope follows.

Z . Ahmad walked on the mountain border to escape from Revolutionary Guard a trip he described as a very long, very dark and very scary “.

He was born in a Kurdish area west of Iran. But his parents sent him to Britain to be educated when he was 18.

He remained in Britain for many years, studying at the University of Kent and London School of Economics. His love for Britain was so great that he applied for citizenship before returning to Iran as anthropologist.

His research focuses on children's marriages and on the genius of women in Iran. This brought him renewed attention to the authorities because he was active in raising women's marriage age, which for now in Iran is 13.

On a morning in August 2019, a man came to his home in Tehran saying he was a mailman. When Ahmad opened the door, he saw 16 Revolutionary Guard soldiers rushed in. He was arrested and sent to the notorious Evin prison.

Z . Ahmad said he was targeted not only because of his dual citizenship, but also because Iran wanted to retaliate after Britain had confiscated an Iranian Oil tank in Gibraltar under suspicions that it had broken EU sanctions.

To have dual citizenship always makes you suspicious,” he told the BBC.

And the key agent told me, “You're very tasty for us, because I was a Kurd; b) because I came from a Sunit religious culture, so opposed to a majority Shiite in Iran; and c) because I was researching sensitive themes. And I was just a simple researcher, I was doing my job and I was using it to increase people's conscience. ”

He spent three months in Evin's prison where, he says, investigators played mind games with him.

I was treated well on a human level. But don't underestimate the concept and seriousness of the so-called “white” psychological pressure putting on you. And all these games play phase after stage, and they're well trained on how to put a little more pressure on you when it's time. ”

After three months he was released before he had the trial but was closely monitored.

Last December, sir. Ahmad was convicted of co-operating with a hostile government, something he denies, as prosecutors claim a charity he once worked for had received finance from the United States and Basescu. He had also had other accusations, such as promoting homosexuality in his academic work.

He was sentenced to more than nine years in prison and given a fine of nearly 600 thousand euros. But while he was still at large waiting for his sentence, he decided to leave Iran.

“Apel refused. That's when I decided to leave because I couldn't see myself in prison for 10 years and not see my son grow up. Until I was released, if my son had been released, he would have filled 15. ”

Without telling anyone else except the close family, Mr. Ahmad secretly fled, traveling through the mountains on foot.

I just left. I packed the case with a razor blade, some books and a laptop. Hot clothes. I had to leave behind everything I wanted, everything I had worked for, all human ties. It was sad and scary. ”

It was a difficult decision. It was emotionally hard. It was physically and mentally hard. It was an act I did against my will. They [Iran] drove me out. And that was very sad. ”

Z . Ahmad still faces an uncertain future in Britain, since he is unemployed.

I did what I had to do. I could not stay and spend 10 years [in prison]. /Periscope