The following are excerpts of an article appearing in today’s NY Times: 

Nearly three decades had passed since Yaghoub Khezri fled his native Iran in 1978, on the eve of the Islamic revolution, to begin a new life in Forest Hills, Queens.

It was in New York that he watched his children have children of their own, as his past receded further and further.

But the old memories kindled the faint hope that he could return one day.

So when, in 2004, some old business partners from Tehran reached out to Mr. Khezri and told him it was safe to come back and claim property that had been seized by the government, the lure — both financial and emotional — proved more powerful than any fears about what might happen if he returned.

And at the age of 81, it was most likely his last chance to see Iran.

Almost as soon as he landed in Tehran, however, Mr. Khezri found himself at the center of a nightmare. He was arrested, and at first faced charges that carried a possible death sentence. Eventually, he was convicted of “womanizing” and “immoral acts” and sentenced to three and half years in prison and 99 lashes.

On the day he was convicted, April 7, 2005, Mr. Khezri wrote a short statement on the sentencing document. “I will be in this hellhole for 42 months,” he wrote. “God help me. Death would be better than this.”

Mr. Khezri did not die.

After four years of struggle and uncertainty, tireless advocacy by his family and friends, the efforts of American officials, and an untold number of bribes, Mr. Khezri, now 86, finally was able to leave Iran and was to return to New York on Wednesday.

Even as many questions about his case remain unanswered, his harrowing story provides a glimpse into a society where notions of justice can leave an elderly man beaten so badly that he can now barely walk.

Mr. Khezri arrived in Switzerland last month. The effects of his imprisonment have left him traumatized.

Krista Errickson, a journalist and documentary maker who has known the Khezri family for years and has worked in Iran, has been involved in the effort to bring Mr. Khezri back to the United States since the spring.

Mr. Khezri is Jewish, although it is unclear what role religion played in his ordeal.

While Mr. Khezri’s family said that his interrogation initially centered on accusations that he was an Israeli spy and a supporter of the United States, he ended up being convicted for “womanizing” and “immoral acts.”

Soon after he was convicted, he had to endure 99 lashes.

“All of the lashes are administered at once,” Ms. Errickson said. “First they whip the legs, the back, the neck, the feet, the hands. And then they turn you around and get you in the front.”

Mr. Khezri was then kept in solitary confinement for nearly a year, according to his family.

When his sentence was over, his wife, Ghammar, 76, still had to figure out how to get him out of Iran. His United States green card had expired while he was in prison, so he was essentially a man without a country.

Ms. Errickson, aided by the State Department, was able to secure Mr. Khezri’s passage to Switzerland.

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