The case of Sakineh Mohmmadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, has become a high profile human rights story internationally. Her case remains under review.

The people involved in that case, and those close to them, have also had their lives turned upside down.

The authorities went after Mohammad Mostafaei, one of the lawyers defending Ashtiani. He went into hiding, thinking that if he was arrested, he would not be doing anyone any good. A well-known human rights lawyer, he has around 70 clients. He says he thought they would keep him in jail for five or six years.

Instead, authorities arrested his wife Fereshteh Halimi, as well as her brother and father, who is elderly and has a heart problem. She was held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison for two weeks, kept as a hostage, told she wouldn’t see her seven-year-old daughter again, unless she divulged her husband’s whereabouts. She never did. Eventually they released her.

She tells Fox News, "At night it was really terrible. From 11-2:30 at night I was just crying, thinking of my daughter, my husband, my future, my people."

In this time, unbeknownst to her, Mostafaei tells us, tormented, he went to Evin prison five times, prepared to turn himself in to spare his wife, but decided he would not bow to the regime’s pressure. He escaped to Turkey, on foot, and on horseback. He ended up in Oslo, Norway. His wife and daughter Parmida finally joined him in Oslo on Thursday. Halimi says she believes her husband did the right thing.

She told Fox News, "When I heard he left the country, I was very happy in my cell. I jumped. I thought, Thank God! He left."

She says she is proud of Mostafaei for being an outspoken advocate for human rights. Halimi says, "There are lots of people in Iran in prison. Their family may be hostage and nobody is aware of that."

Mostafaei did not know whether or not his family would make it to Oslo. They had visas to travel, visas they had obtained before their recent troubles began. But it seemed likely the Iranian authorities would bar them from leaving the country. Halimi said she thought she and her daughter had a 30% chance of getting out.

Fox News was with Mostafaei on the night his wife and daughter were scheduled to leave Iran. He was nervous, telling us later, “If I had learned they were not let on that plane, I would have had a heart attack.”

He tracked their progress through the airport for hours. His wife and daughter had an entourage of twenty or so family and friends helping them through. The phone calls came through fast and furious, on newly bought mobile phones, with pay as you go cards, to try to elude those who might be listening in.

One call was from his daughter Parmida. We could hear her excited, high-pitched voice come through the phone. “Daddy we are coming to visit you. Will you please meet us at the airport?”

When Halimi and her daughter finally got on the plane, they called Mostafaie. But he was still worried. It is not unheard of for people to be pulled off planes after they have boarded, but before the flight takes off.

Finally in the middle of the night, Mostafaie’s brother-in-law called him to say the plane had taken off. “Your worries are over. Put your best clothes on.”

We traveled with Mostafaei to the airport to meet his family. We arrived an hour before the plane landed. It had gone from Tehran to Istanbul, and was heading to Oslo.

He bought flowers. A small gaggle of local press started to gather at arrivals.

The anticipation built and then finally about an hour later, the plane landed. Halimi and Parmida came out with all their possessions. There were tears.

Mostafaei said, “Now, I need nothing.”

But his wife says it was brutally painful saying good-bye to Iran. She does not blame her husband for their travails. "It's really hard times for us. I don't believe it's because of the job of my husband but rather the situation of the government. My husband did the right things."

They love their country and never wanted to leave. Halimi cleared out their home. Sold off goods they couldn’t carry with them. But she had to keep it all low-key, and in fact, did not even say good-bye to everyone, because she did not want to tip the authorities off to the fact that she and her daughter were leaving.

They are resolved to starting a new life in the West, presumably here in Oslo, where Mostafaei has been receiving some support. He has been offered some work with think-tanks and human rights organizations. He doesn’t want to work for an organization with a political affiliation. Mostafaei believes human rights should not be political.

He, as well as other human rights organizations, claim thousands of people were arrested in the wake of last June’s disputed presidential elections. He put an offer on his website to offer legal aid for free, to any of them. He says 150 took him up on the offer.

Mostafaei got into human rights work for somewhat personal reasons. Neither of his parents read or write. He has six brothers and sisters. Mostafaei started to work when he was seven-years-old, Parmida’s age. He worked in restaurants, at a tailor shop. After his military service he decided to get a higher education and studied law. He does commercial law, but his main thrust became human rights, particularly women’s and children’s rights. Mostafaei says seeing what his mother went through—her life was not easy, and he did not elaborate too much—he feels strongly about women’s issues.

Mostafaei says now that his nuclear family is safely here, he plans to speak more openly and critically about the human rights situation in Iran. The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, he claims, is just a symbol. There are many others. He has a client who has a five year jail sentence for sending a text message in support of the Green Movement. Mostafaei has also defended many minors who receive death sentences to be carried out once they reach 18. Overall, he claims he has saved 50 people from execution.

Halimi, about her new and unknown life in the West said, "I am not thinking only about my family. I am thinking about my people." She went on, "I am really sad because of our people. They really deserve a better life, a better government."

We asked Mostafaei if he was fearful about repercussions on other family members who remain in Iran. He said, they have each other, they are strong, they might be harassed from time to time. But there are so many victims of Iran’s judiciary system, Mostafaei says, who have nothing.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/02/lawyer%E2%80%99s-family-flees-iran/?test=latestnews

Thisguy's wife should not only be proud of her husband but also of herself. She stood up to a murderous regime that wouldn't think twice about killing her or her husband for just defending basic civil rights.

This really shows the brutality of that regime and how UN peaceful they really are. Hopefully the world starts to wake up soon to help the good Iranian people like this beautiful family.

Bump