All I want for Christmas is my mother Mr Johnson
DAUGHTER OF DETAINED NAZANIN ASKS THE PM TO BRING HER HOME FROM IRAN
THE daughter of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has made a moving plea to No.10 saying she wants ‘ mummy home for Christmas’ to give her a ‘cuddle’.
Six-year-old Gabriella posted a Christmas card to the prime minister asking for his help to bring back her mother, who has been detained in Iran since 2016.
Inside the card, decorated with a Santa hat, Gabriella writes: ‘Dear Boris Johnson, please can you bring my mummy home for Christmas. She has been good.
‘When she comes back I want to cuddle her first and then go to the toy shop with her. Merry Christmas to you and your family, love Gabriella. xxx’
The family are preparing for their fifth Christmas apart from Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who turns 42 on Boxing Day. The British-Iranian dual national was sentenced to five years in prison for plotting against the state, allegations she denies. Gabriella – who was only 22 months old when her mother was detained – can be seen writing the message as part of a film with human rights charity Amnesty.
The ten-minute clip, Two Daughters, also features Elika Ashoori, 34, daughter of retired 66-year-old engineer and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori, who has also been held in Iran since August 2017. The film ends with the pair looking in shop windows in London’s Regent Street.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was released due to the pandemic but is under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tehran.
Kate Allen, director at Amnesty International UK, said the families are ‘both victims of Iran’s notoriously unjust security charges’. She added: ‘Like Gabriella says, Boris Johnson needs to do everything he can to get Nazanin and Anoosheh home for Christmas.’