NYC lawyer: Iranian cameraman concerned for safety

NYC lawyer: Iranian cameraman concerned for safety

NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for an Iranian cameraman who is seeking asylum in the United States says his client was concerned for his safety if he went back to Iran.

Paul O’Dwyer is representing Hassan Gol Khanban, who had accompanied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly.

Khanban is in his 40s and has been a videographer with the Iranian News Agency for years. He has traveled abroad with Ahmadinejad before.

O’Dwyer said Tuesday his client had been asked to do things by the Iranian presidential delegation that he had refused to do, and was concerned about facing repercussions upon returning to Iran, which prompted his defection.

O’Dwyer said his client’s wife and two young children have also left Iran.