Hopes rise as woman imprisoned in Iran is deemed ‘eligible for early release’
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who has been in jail in Iran for nearly two years, is “eligible for early release”.
It is understood that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was told the news by her Iranian lawyer, who saw the change in her status on the Iranian judiciary database. It was previously classed as closed.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in Tehran in April last year while travelling there with her daughter, Gabriella.
Accused of plotting the “soft toppling” of Iran’s government, she was sentenced to five years in prison.
But her lawyer now believes she could be home “within a couple of weeks”, according to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband.
Richard Ratcliffe, who has been calling on Iran to release his wife before Christmas, told The Independent: “It’s not the same as a decision having been made to release, but it is a very clear positive sign towards that.
“The lawyer also said ‘I think they are just going to finalise the paperwork.’
“It doesn’t mean she is going to be out tomorrow. His [the lawyer’s] estimate was within a couple of weeks.”
Britain’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, met president Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials in Tehran this month to discuss the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other jailed dual nationals.
Speaking to the house of commons on his return, Mr Johnson said his trip had been worthwhile and that his government would “leave no stone unturned” to secure the release of British nationals jailed in the country.
“I urged their release, on humanitarian grounds, where there is cause to do so,” Mr Johnson said.
Last month, Mr Johnson mistakenly claimed the 39-year-old had been training journalists in Iran, something her employer, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and her family denied. Mr Johnson retracted the comment and apologised.
Mr Johnson’s mistake led to calls for him to resign should Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s sentence be extended because of his remark.
But the foreign secretary went some way towards redeeming himself with his diplomatic efforts in Tehran, which resulted in Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s latest court hearing being postponed.
The decision to delay the hearing – at which she expected her jail sentence would have been extended – was welcomed by family and campaigners.
An online petition for her release has collected almost 1.5 million signatures.
A number of dual nationals and expatriates have been detained indefinitely in Iran on similar charges to those made against Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
One, Ahmad Reza Jalali, has been in jail since April last year on allegations of aiding Israel in assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists. On Sunday, Iran state TV broadcast a report in which the Sweden-based Iranian national purportedly confessed to spying.
Other dual citizens who have been released from prison in Iran under the early release scheme have been forced to remain there for the duration of their sentence.
British-Iranian Roya Nobakht, who was arrested and imprisoned in 2013 after posting anti-government comments on Facebook, was released this year under the early release scheme but must remain with her family in Iran until the end of her seven-year term.
Amnesty International urged caution about yesterday’s news on Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying: “As far as we’re concerned, this won’t end until Nazanin and Gabriella are actually on a plane and heading back to London.”
In a statement, Amnesty UK’s individuals at risk campaigner, Kathy Voss, said: “There have already been many ups and downs in Nazanin’s case, so we have to be cautious about any premature celebrations.”
She said that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe should not have been put in prison in the first place.
Supporters of ZaghariRatcliffe welcomed the word from her lawyer but urged caution until there is a clearer picture