A Tech Star Blackmailed

Same happened to my father. He was kept for 9 months and tortured because he wouldn't agree to spy for Iran. Among the horrifying things that happened to him whilst there, he mentioned they would take him outside blind-folded, force him on his knees, and hold a gun to his head saying he needs to cooperate with them, or they will end his life right here and then the same will happen to his children.

The depression, anger, and sadness ruins lives. He was never the same.

Tragic, but I wonder why anyone would consider bringing sensitive data on their phone or laptop on such a trip? If not the Iranians, the USCPB would almost certainly grab a copy of it all upon his return.

This story is about Canadian-Iranian software engineer Behdad Esfahbod and his detention during a visit to Iran [1]:

> Esfahbod claims that he was arrested by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence echelon during a 2020 visit to Tehran. He was then moved to Evin prison, where he was psychologically pressured and interrogated for 6 days. Iranian security forces let him go based on his promise to spy on his friends once he was back in United States.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behdad_Esfahbod#Detention_Iran...

I speculate he told people that he was visiting ahead of time which is a big no-no. There are countless stories of people getting mugged, knocked out, etc. at airports upon arriving in these hostile nations. It wouldn't have hurt to check travel advisories before visiting.