Freedom is not free. It comes at a high price. My story, as told here, is the price of freedom – a price worth paying.

It is a story born from the pain of being renounced by your homeland, forbidden to communicate with your family for ten years, and banned from playing your favorite game in the NBA and elsewhere.

It is the story of being arrested in Europe, at risk of being kidnapped to a foreign country, labeled an "international criminal," and having an Interpol arrest warrant issued against you.

It is the story of imprisoned and tortured family members, countless death threats, twelve arrest warrants, and living with a bounty of $500,000 on my head.

It is a story of sacrificing everything that was most precious to me. A story of facing the rest of your life wondering what could have happened and what might never occur.

In short, it is the story of a man wanted by everyone. But it is also a story of discovering the most valuable things of all. For what I lost, I gained even more.