Basir Arian set up an online English study programme for Afghan girls after the Taliban banned them from school in August 2021. In May 2022, Taliban officials summoned him to their intelligence directorate in Herat with a 20-minute deadline. Arian says he was tortured during the encounter, sustaining a broken nose and jaw. He describes the experience as devastating and says it convinced him he had to leave Afghanistan. Arian told a friend his location before going, fearing he might not return.