Nazanin’s life ‘is in the balance’ in Iran jail
THE life of British mother Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe ‘hangs in the balance’ after she contracted suspected coronavirus in her Iranian jail.
Ministers have urged Tehran to release her on medical grounds after she developed a ‘strange cold’.
Iran has the highest coronavirus death toll in the world after China, with more than 1,500 confirmed cases and over 60 fatalities. Last night there was confusion over whether Mrs Zaghari- Ratcliffe had been tested for the killer virus.
She is being held on false spying charges in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail where there has already been at least one corvid-19 death.
Her MP, Tulip Siddiq, yesterday raised her case in Parliament, calling for ministers to ‘act, and act now’. ‘ The Government has important choices over Nazanin’s case in the coming months and they must do everything possible to secure her release and bring her back home,’ she said.
‘She is seriously ill and displaying symptoms associated with the virus. Her family are desperately worried about her and I cannot blame them.’
Foreign Office minister Nigel Adams said that the UK, France and Germany had pledged over £4million of aid to Iran to help it cope with the crisis.
But Mrs Siddiq added: ‘In the negotiations [over aid], was my constituent Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe’s potentially fatal medical condition mentioned? Nazanin’s life hangs in the balance and I would urge the Government to act and to act now.’
Mr Adams replied: ‘I think things may have moved on a little bit today in terms of the testing’ – though her husband disputed this, saying that she had not been tested.
He said the Government was in ‘close contact’ with the Iranian authorities to push for a ‘temporary release on medical grounds’, adding: ‘We clearly don’t think she should be in prison in the first place.’ He said: ‘ We are offering Iran a comprehensive package of both material and financial support to stem the rapid spread of the disease.
‘Today a plane departed the UK with vital materials, such as equipment for laboratory tests as well as other equipment including protective body suits and gloves.’
All non- essential staff were pulled out of the British embassy yesterday. Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was ‘absolutely essential’ that the Government make representations to the Iranian government. The debate was watched by Mr Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella from the public gallery.
Earlier, Mr Ratcliffe said his wife was ‘desperate’ to get tested, but added: ‘The prison is obviously under orders not to test anyone.’
His wife was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016. She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.
By Claire Ellicott Political Correspondent ‘Seriously ill with symptoms’