Husband of woman jailed in Iran gains hope from ministerial visit
THE HUSBAND of a British-Iranian woman imprisoned in Tehran has spoken of his hopes for her freedom as a senior Foreign Office minister visits the country.
Alistair Burt will hold talks with senior Iranian politicians and raise the cases of dual national detainees including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Kamal Foroughi.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Iranian family have given Mr Burt a message warning that imprisonment is taking a physical and mental toll on the 38-year-old mother, who has a young daughter.
Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said he wanted Mr Burt to raise the issue of his wife’s innocence as well as her incarceration, saying: “Having two passports should mean more protection for her rights, not less.”
He added: “We hope he finds a way to encourage the Iranian authorities to allow Nazanin home reunited with her husband and daughter.
“In just over a week it will be 500 days of Nazanin being held.
“Gabriella was only 661 days old when her mother was originally taken – soon it will be half of her life growing up without her parents.”
Mr Burt’s visit to Tehran will see him attend the official swearing-in ceremony for re-elected President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday. The message to him from Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family says the “unsuitable condition of the solitary confinement has deteriorated her health”.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran Airport in April last year while visiting family in Iran with daughter Gabriella.
She was later jailed for five years for allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian government – a charge she has repeatedly denied.
She has been held alone at Evin prison for the past nine months and is suffering from mental health problems, as well as physical issues with her shoulder, neck, eyesight and teeth.
The family said they managed to get a psychiatrist in to see her, but added: “Being away from her daughter and husband has made her very fragile and desperate.”