Growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saeed Ghasseminejad’s parents hoped he’d become a scientist or perhaps an engineer… anything but what he actually became: a dissident and a freedom fighter.

But he couldn’t remain silent about the theocratic oppression in his native land.

He ended up in Iran’s infamous Evin prison, his sentence handed down by none other than Abolghassem Salavati, otherwise known as the “Hanging Judge” who was recently designated by the United States for his decades of human rights abuses. After that, he went into exile abroad.

Today, as FDD’s senior advisor on Iran and Financial Economics, he’s responsible for granular research and incisive analysis, and his insights and recommendations are heard at the highest levels of the U.S. government.