A former Iranian diplomat in Finland on Monday said he would seek asylum in the Nordic country, two days after announcing his resignation in protest against Tehran, DPA reported.
The decision was "very, very tough," Hossein Alizadeh told reporters.
Alizadeh said he disapproved of the Iranian government's treatment of anti-government protesters and had proof that the elections won by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 were rigged.
At the weekend, Alizadeh said he no longer considered himself "a diplomat standing beside a brutal Iranian regime," according to a statement distributed by the Swedish-based Association for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran.
Prior to announcing his resignation, Alizadeh said, he had stayed away for almost a month from the embassy where had served since 2007.
He is the second Iranian diplomat in the Nordic region to resign in protest against Tehran, Finnish news agency STT reported.
In January, a diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Norway resigned in protest against Tehran's harsh treatment of anti-government protesters at the end of last year. Mohammed Reza Heydari was later granted asylum by Norway.