Application numbers soar in Europe

Berlin: Though Germany has seen the most, asylum applications from Iran have been on the rise across western Europe since the disputed elections.

The Netherlands, for example, saw 430 applications in the first six months of 2010, already more than the 420 for all of 2008 and approaching the 580 total from 2009. France saw 197 in the first seven months of 2010, up from 168 for all of last year and 117 in 2008.

One case in Germany that has drawn much of the focus is that of Zahra Soltani, who fled to Germany after her Facebook picture was mistaken for that of Neda Agha Soltan, the protester shot and killed in Tehran in June 2009 who became a symbol of Iranian dissent.

As many western news organisations used Soltani's photo, the Iranian government started pressuring her to cooperate with them so that they could denounce Agha Soltan's death as a fake, she said.

"I don't blame Facebook for what happened to me personally, I blame those who stole my photo from Facebook and used it without checking," the 33-year-old said in an interview in Frankfurt.

When the government started accusing her of being a spy to make her comply, she knew that she had to flee. "Being accused of being a spy or being an agent can mean immediate execution," Soltani said.

She was not one of the 50 high-level dissidents granted special treatment, but she made her way to Germany on her own and lived in a refugee home for months before her asylum application was approved.

"What happened in Iran last year is the beginning of something big, I'm sure. One day we will, my people will reach the freedom thy are fighting for," Soltani said