Jailed Nazanin wins hunger strike bid for medical care
A BRITISH mother jailed in Iran ended her three-day hunger strike yesterday, after prison chiefs agreed to grant her medical treatment.
Former charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, and a fellow prisoner, Narges Mohammadi, refused food after they said they were denied access to specialists.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard said she had not been given medical attention for breast lumps, severe neck pain and numbness in her arms and legs.
Following pressure from international bodies including the United Nations and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, as well as her Iranian lawyer, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was allowed to receive treatment at Iran Mehr Hospital, Tehran.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe told her husband she had lost more than 6lbs during her three-day fast and had headaches, dizziness and nausea.
Mr Ratcliffe said: “I am really glad this is over. I am still sorry it came to this, that Nazanin felt there was no other way.”
Mr Hunt summoned the Iranian ambassador to London on Monday, demanding Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had immediate healthcare access.
Mr Ratcliffe said: “Special thanks goes to Jeremy Hunt for summoning the ambassador and for making it clear that he will stand up for basic rights and for common values.”
Dual UK-Iranian citizen Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of Hampstead, north-west London, was arrested in 2016 while visiting her family with her daughter Gabriella, now four.
Jailed for five years for allegedly spying, she is being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.