Dreams of freedom in Iran prison
AMOTHER jailed in Tehran for allegedly plotting to topple the government has told how she dreams of watching her husband and their two-year-old daughter playing.
Ahead of the first anniversary of her detention, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen, described her wish to see the pair dancing to Michael Jackson in “the middle of our sitting room”.
The 38-year-old was arrested at Tehran Airport on April 3, 2016, while visiting family in Iran with daughter Gabriella.
She was imprisoned for five years in September and lost an appeal against her sentence in January but maintains her innocence.
Her husband Richard said it had been a “long year of separation, a year of our lives interrupted”.
Yesterday – the 365th day since the arrest – family and friends gathered at Fortune Green close to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s home in Hampstead, north-west London.
Supporters, including her sisterin-law Rebecca Ratcliffe, a Cwmbran GP, tied yellow ribbons to a tree in the park along with quotes from inmates at Evin prison in Iran, where Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being held, describing what they would do with one day of freedom.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s wish reads: “My fondest dream has always been to arrive at our home, you ask me if I want to have a cup of tea, then make me one. I just sit back and watch you two play. This is the image I had most when in solitary confinement.
“How I wish I could watch you both dance in the middle of our sitting room to the Michael Jackson music – like when Gabriella was only tiny.”
Mr Ratcliffe, 42, described the morning as a “nice, positive” event, and said: “We’re keeping an eye on the future, and one day this will be finished.”
Dr Ratcliffe urged others to tie ribbons in solidarity and post them on social media.
The Free Nazanin Campaign said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had still not been shown her charge sheet following the appeal or what she has been convicted of.
Gabriella is being looked after by family members in Iran.