Jailed mother and activist call off prison hunger strike
British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi, a leading Iranian human rights activist, have suspended their hunger strike after prison authorities allowed them to resume medical treatment.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, was arrested in April 2016 as she was leaving Iran after taking her infant daughter to visit her family and was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.
The women began their hunger strike on Monday after complaining that they were being denied medical treatment.
“Nazanin and Narges have ended their hunger strike today and have not extended it beyond the original three days,” Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said on Thursday.
“We welcome confirmation from the prison authorities that they will be allowed to resume treatment at outside hospitals where they had both been previously treated.”
UN human rights experts have described the regime’s treatment of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was akin to torture and called on Iran to give the charity worker urgent health care.
“We urge the government to immediately and unconditionally provide Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi with access to the appropriate treatment and care they have repeatedly requested in light of their serious health concerns,” the experts said on Wednesday.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was denied a mammogram after finding lumps in her breast. Her husband said that she has also experienced numbness in her arms and legs.
Ms Mohammadi is suffering from a pulmonary embolism, blood clots and seizures. Some sources say she has been denied health care for more than a year.
“The authorities must urgently address the violations that are the basis of their hunger strike protest, including denial of appropriate treatment and care, which may well amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or even torture,” the experts said.
The statement’s six signatories included Javaid Rehman, the UN expert on human rights in Iran, and Nils Melzer, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture.
Meanwhile, Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to Britain, criticised the publicity campaign being run on Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s behalf by her husband, saying that it was hindering her possible release.
“We really hope that we can help her [on] humanitarian grounds and find quick solutions in a way that clemency will be granted,” Mr Baeidinejad said. “Unfortunately, in this situation, when there are always agitations, issues in the media and politicisation of the media, I am concerned that this would not be a situation leading to that conclusion.”