Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer was under European diplomatic protection Friday after Turkish authorities released him from a detention center for illegal immigrants.
Mohammad Mostafaei had barely made it to his hotel in Istanbul before diplomatic officials rushed to the scene and announced he was not safe. They swept him away in a car.
"After 6 days [in detention], I'm so tired I just want to go to my hotel and take a shower," Mostafaei said to CNN. "I feel like I'm still in detention".
He has had to make difficult, life-altering decisions in recent weeks.
The lawyer has been a long-time defender of Iranian juveniles facing the death penalty. More recently, he campaigned publicly to attract international attention to the case of Sakine Ashtiani, the 42-year old mother of two who was sentenced to death by stoning after she was convicted of adultery.
On July 24, as activists around the world staged protests against Ashtiani's death sentence, Mostafaei was taken in by Iranian authorities for hours of interrogation. After they released him, he said, he went into hiding. CNN
