A young Iranian filmmaker named Emadeddin (Emad) Tayefeh was forced to flee his homeland earlier this year after its totalitarian regime grew suspicious of his latest documentary project that focuses on political repression in that country.
In early August, Tayefeh hopped on a bus bound for the Turkish border, following beatings and imprisonment at the hands of the Islamic regime for shooting video footage for his anti-government film, the Guardian (UK) reports.
“My heart was beating so fast,” he said. “I wasn’t allowed to leave the country, and I’d bribed the border police to get an exit permit. I had to cross the border without wasting time.”