No more softly, softly, says husband of Brit in Iran jail
THE HUSBAND of jailed British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe urged the Foreign Secretary to escalate the Government’s support for her as the “softly-softly” approach was not working.
Richard Ratcliffe said his hour-long meeting with Boris Johnson about his wife, who is being held in Iran, had been “positive and constructive” and he hoped she would return home by Christmas.
He said his wife was “on the verge of a nervous breakdown” and her mental state had suffered since a gaffe by Mr Johnson about her activities in Iran led to the threat of further charges.
The Foreign Secretary has apologised for the “distress” and “suffering” he caused by his suggestion that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists in Iran, which has exposed her to the threat of her five-year jail sentence being doubled.
Mr Ratcliffe said the situation was “deeply upsetting for her”.
He said: “That’s the one point she wanted to make to the Foreign Secretary – what it’s like to watch yourself being called a spy on television every night which has happened only in the last two weeks, and just wanting him to do what he can to bring her home.”
He suggested Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was being used as a “bargaining chip” in a wider diplomatic dispute between London and Tehran.
Mr Ratcliffe has said her detention is being used by the Tehran government in an attempt to get the British authorities to pay for a £400m arms deal with Iran struck in the 1970s.
He said: “It is important that the UK honours its international legal obligations so that Iran can honour its legal obligations. They are separate things but it is good for the atmosphere if they are all solved.”
The Foreign Secretary is due to travel to Iran and Mr Ratcliffe said Mr Johnson was “keen” for him to be in the travelling party.
Mr Ratcliffe, whose sister Rebecca Jones is a GP living in Cardiff, called for his wife to be granted diplomatic protection, which would escalate her case to the level of a state-to-state dispute rather than a simple consular case, but the Foreign Office has “reservations” about such a move.
He said: “Diplomatic protection is in essence when a state like Britain decides that Nazanin was being treated badly because she is British and she is entitled to be protected as an extension of the British state. It is not unprecedented, but it is a big step.”
He added: “I appreciate it’s an escalation, but I think... it’s important that where softly-softly doesn’t work, where it has been escalated by the past couple of weeks’ events and the Foreign Secretary’s words being used, I think it is appropriate.”
Mr Ratcliffe said he was “hopeful” that Mr Johnson “will do everything he can to bring her home by Christmas”.
“She talks about being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I absolutely believe that’s true. I think it’s important I don’t exaggerate anything in the media and I’m not melodramatic, but she is in a difficult place.” Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq, who represents the family, described the meeting as “encouraging”.
She said: “Gabriella has lost the ability to speak English now, so it is very difficult for Richard and Gabriella to communicate.
“Their communication is via Skype, but as she doesn’t speak English and he doesn’t speak Farsi, you can imagine it’s not an ideal solution.
“So, if he gets to go with the Foreign Secretary, he gets to see his daughter for the first time in 19 months. And if he’s there, he has the right to visit Nazanin in prison as her relative.”
The Foreign Office said the Government was seeking to secure Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release on humanitarian grounds.
A spokesman said: “The Foreign Secretary and officials outlined that the key question is whether diplomatic protection will have a positive impact on the case, given all the representations that have already been made.
“They agreed that lawyers should meet in the coming fortnight to discuss it further.”