“RAMIN and Rokni Haerizadeh, two Iranian artists exiled in Dubai, fled their homeland in spring 2009. Iranian officials became aware of their work when it was included in Charles Saatchi’s exhibition, “Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East”. Armed with a catalogue, representatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and National Security descended on Tehran’s art galleries, pointed at Ramin Haerizadeh’s partially naked self-portraits (from his “Men of Allah” series) and asked, “Do you know this man?” They then raided a patron’s house, confiscated two of the artist’s works and threatened the collector with four months in prison. Family and friends called the artists, who were in Paris for the opening of their exhibition at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, and warned them not to return. Iranian passports are hardly great calling cards, but after the intervention of a sympathetic Sheikh in Abu Dhabi’s Department of Higher Education, Mr Haerizadeh and his younger brother Rokni were granted three-year visas for the United Arab Emirates.”

http://www.economist.com/node/16690352.