An Iranian videographer who travelled with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to New York for the U.N. General Assembly has defected to the United States, his layer confirmed today.
Paul O’Dwyer, the lawyer for Hassan Golkhanban, told American media that while Golkhanban was not “in any trouble” with the regime, they “wanted him to do things he didn’t want to…report on particular things, and [with which] he was not comfortable.”
O’Dwyer reported that Golkhanban’s asylum application has been filed with the State Department and is now in process.
O’Dwyer told CNN about his client: “He’s perceived as not being a supporter, or being an opponent of the Iranian regime… somebody who has betrayed the regime and who can no longer be trusted by them.”
Golkhanban’s lawyer also reported that his clients’ wife and children have also fled Iran and he was not able to disclose their location due to security considerations.
Iranian media have denied Golkhanban’s defection, and ILNA reported yesterday that Hassan Golkhanban will return to Iran on Wednesday along with the Iranian foreign minister.
