An Iranian lawyer who defended a woman facing death by stoning in Iran said that he had fled to Norway to seek protection

The lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, 37, an outspoken critic of the Iranian judicial system, disappeared from Tehran on July 24, 2010 after questioning by the Iranian authorities, who then issued an arrest warrant for him. His wife and brother-in-law were arrested, but Mr. Mostafaei, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters that his wife had been freed and that he expected her and their daughter, 7, to join him in Norway eventually. He said that after escaping from Iran, he had made his way by car, horseback and foot to Turkey, where the Norwegian Embassy helped him travel to Oslo on a visitor’s visa.