Wife ‘in harm’s way’ as Iran sentence ends
THE HUSBAND of a British-Iranian mother detained in Iran for the past five years has said his wife “remains in harm’s way” and “in the middle of this government game of chess”.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 42, has completed a near five-year sentence in the Islamic Republic over allegations of plotting to overthrow its government – charges which she denies.
The mother-of-one finished the latter part of her sentence under house arrest and had her ankle tag removed yesterday – but must still appear before an Iranian court in a week’s time.
Husband Richard Ratcliffe said “it’s a mixed day” and his wife was happy to be free of her tag. He said: “I’m a bit more guarded. It feels to me like they have made one blockage just as they have removed another, and we very clearly remain in the middle of this government game of chess.”
THE SENTENCE of a British mother detained in Iran came to an end yesterday after nearly five years.
British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 42, has been held in Iran since 2016, when she was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.
Her constituency MP, Tulip Siddiq, said she has been in touch with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family, who said she has had her ankle tag removed but has been summoned to court next week. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport while travelling with her daughter to visit her parents in April 2016.
The charity worker, who was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation at the time of her arrest, strongly denies the charges and rights groups say she was jailed with no evidence and her trial was unfair.
Yesterday marked the day her sentence was scheduled to end.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard and daughter Gabriella – who is now of school age – are waiting to find out whether they will be reunited at home in north London.
Mr Ratcliffe previously said that Gabriella was counting down the days until her mother returned.
He explained: “She’s got a calendar that she crosses off each day – yesterday she did two by mistake, so we had to tell her that she can’t do one today.
“She’s in that sense counting down and I think probably still at this point treating it like an advent calendar, so the days will come off and then the magic delivery will happen.”
Mr Ratcliffe added: “She’s been asking: ‘When’s mummy coming back, when’s mummy coming back?’ Hopefully this won’t be tough for her psychologically if mummy doesn’t come back at the end of all those days on the calendar.
“She’s had a lot of experience of grown-ups promising her that mummy’s coming home and then mummy not coming home.”
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been out of prison since last spring due to the coronavirus crisis, but has been held under house arrest at her parents’ house in Tehran.
Mr Ratcliffe said: “It is shocking that what started off as a mum and a baby on holiday could be allowed to last for five years.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab meanwhile condemned the “cruel and intolerable” treatment Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe endured while detained in Iran and called for her swift return to the UK.
“We welcome the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle tag, but Iran continues to put her and her family through a cruel and an intolerable ordeal.
“She must be released permanently so she can return to her family in the UK. We will continue to do all we can to achieve this.”
Her lawyer Hodjat Kermani said on Sunday, however, that although her house arrest had come to an end, “the situation of her leaving the country is not clear yet”.
Mr Raab added: “We have relayed to the Iranian authorities in the strongest possible terms that her continued confinement is unacceptable.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement: “We do not accept Iran detaining dual British nationals as diplomatic leverage. The regime must end its arbitrary detention of all dual British nationals. We continue to do everything we can to secure the release of arbitrarily detained dual British nationals so that they can be reunited with their loved ones.”
Iran continues to put her through a cruel and intolerable ordeal. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.