UK blogger ‘scared and intimidated in Iran jail’
A BRITISH woman held in an Iranian jail is ‘scared and intimidated’, the husband of fellow UK detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe revealed yesterday.
Travel blogger Jolie King has been in an interrogation wing at notorious Evin prison since she and her Australian boyfriend were arrested for flying a drone near Tehran in July.
The couple had posted video blogs of their three-year drive from Australia to London and used the drone to get aerial shots for their YouTube channel.
They are said to have been filming in or near a military area. But their families said the arrests were a ‘misunderstanding’ as they did not know it was illegal to fly a drone in Iran without a licence.
Miss King, who has dual AustralianBritish citizenship, has been held at Evin prison in Tehran for ten weeks.
It was claimed yesterday that Iran wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to secure the release of an Iranian prisoner in the US.
Evin jail holds political prisoners, and British-Iranian mother Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been there since her arrest in 2016 on spying charges, which she denies.
Her husband Richard Ratcliffe said Miss King had been kept in solitary confinement while she was interrogated by officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and was then transferred to the women’s wing. He added: ‘In solitary, the only people you see in there are your interrogators and their job is to terrify you... Nazanin said Jolie was really scared, disorientated and intimidated.’
He said Miss King and her boyfriend Mark Firkin appeared to have been using their drone ‘to get the best selfie angles’, adding: ‘The Iranians are just picking people up. It is a clear escalation and provocation. There needs to be a clear message sent to Iran that they cannot take hostages and treat people like chess pieces.’
Persian broadcaster Manoto TV, which is based in London, said Mr Firkin was also in solitary at Evin.
Editor Pouria Zeraati added: ‘Their trial has not been held and it is not clear what the Islamic Republic wants out of this arrest, as no one from the judiciary or intelligence services has made any comment.’ Iran has detained several Westerners with dual nationality, including 41-year-old mum of one Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Both Miss King, a building designer, and Mr Firkin, a construction manager, were travelling on Australian passports.
Her father Mike is thought to have moved from Britain to Australia aged three. She and Mr Firkin quit their jobs in Perth, Western Australia, two years ago to drive to London in a Toyota 4x4. Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University in Australia, said: ‘Iran’s authorities see a threat in every corner. What might seem ordinary can turn into something very sinister.’
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson will confront Iran over the issue at the UN in New York this month.
Jan Moir – Pages 36 & 37