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Political activists who escaped to Turkey after fleeing Iran's post-election unrest claim they are being subjected to a campaign of threats and intimidation by agents of the Islamic regime.

Several have told the Guardian that they fear for their lives after being tracked down by Iranian security personnel in a country they previously regarded as safe. Some say they are desperate to leave for a more secure country after being accosted in the streets of the Turkish capital, Ankara, and threatened on the internet.

Those claiming harassment are seeking political asylum in the west after alleging they were raped and tortured in the aftermath of the protests that followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election last June, which opponents say was achieved through mass fraud.

They believe the Iranian authorities have put them under surveillance in an effort to intimidate them into silence about rape allegations which scandalised the country's political system when they first surfaced in August. Some say their families in Iran have also been targeted.

In the latest incident, a 24-year... >>>