Jailed Nazanin faces fresh charge in Iran
NAZANIN ZAGHARI-RATCLIFFE has appeared in court in Iran and has been told she will face another trial on Sunday, an MP has said.
Iran’s state TV reported yesterday that the British-Iranian dual national was facing a new charge, citing an unnamed official.
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq later said she had spoken to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, confirming that she had appeared in court yesterday.
Ms Siddiq tweeted “I’ve been in touch with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and can confirm that she was taken to court this morning and told she will face another trial on Sunday. I know many people are concerned about her welfare and I’ll keep everyone updated when we have more information.”
The Hampstead and Kilburn MP also said: “This is an extremely worrying development, and I know many people are concerned about Nazanin’s welfare.
“The last four years have been excruciating for her husband Rich
ard and her daughter Gabriella, who is growing up without a mother.
“The United Nations have recognised Nazanin’s imprisonment as arbitrary and unlawful, and any further court case is clearly unacceptable.”
Amnesty International, which campaigns against human rights abuses worldwide, said the news was a “terrible blow” to her family and supporters.
Kate Allen, the organisation’s director, said: “Nazanin has already been convicted once after a deeply unfair trial, and there should be no question of her being put through that ordeal again.
“There have always been concerns that the Iranian authorities were playing cruel political games with Nazanin, and that looks to be the case here.
“As a matter of absolute urgency, the UK Government should make fresh representations on Nazanin’s behalf, seeking to have any suggestion of a second trial removed.”
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was granted temporary release from prison this spring following the coronavirus outbreak after serving nearly all of her sentence.
She was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.
She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.
She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.
It has been claimed Mrs ZaghariRatcliffe is being held in order to force the UK into settling a multimillion pound dispute with Iran.
The debt dates back to the 1970s when the then-shah of Iran paid the UK £400 million for 1,500 Chieftain tanks.
After he was toppled in 1979, Britain refused to deliver the tanks to the new Islamic Republic and kept the money, despite British courts accepting it should be repaid.
Her husband Richard Ratcliffe said last month there was “clearly a stand-off” between the two countries, and that he feared his wife could face a second court case once her sentence comes to an end next spring.