Canadian resident escapes Iran after 11 years in prison
Saeed Malekpour was granted furlough after international pressures, during which he escaped to Canada through an unnamed third country.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIPrison(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
A web designer escaped Iran to Canada after spending 11 years in prison for creating a program that allows users to upload photos to the internet.Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-born Canadian resident, was sentenced for Persian-language pornographic websites allegedly using his program. The Iranian authorities captured him while he visited his sick father in the country in October of 2008, according to BBC news.The Iranian authorities claimed that he was "designing and moderating pornographic websites," according to Radio Farda, the Iranian Branch of Radio Free Europe. His photo-uploading technology, however, was used by such websites without his knowledge.Malekpour was tortured both physically and psychologically during his time in Tehran's Evin Prison. He also spent over a year in solitary confinement.His death sentence was suspended because he had "repented," according to his lawyer. He was not granted furlough until recently, however, even during his father's funeral.Malekpour, who escaped during a three-day furlough from prison, allegedly used "illegal ways to leave the country," according to Mizan Online spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.He escaped through an unnamed third country into Canada, according to reports.