According to Kosoof, a freelance journalist,Taghi Rahmani, was banned from leaving Iran as he prepared to travel to Denmark on 13 January 2007, to receive a prize awarded by the local section of the freedom of expression organisation, PEN International.The journalist, who is a leading press freedom activist, has worked for several Iranian publications, which has brought him into frequent conflict with the regime.Between 1981 and 2005, he was sentenced to a total of 5,000 days in prison for articles he had written.