Johnson’s remark ‘blunder’ could double Briton’s jail term in Iran

A BRITISH woman jailed in Iran allegedly for plotting to overthrow the government is facing a second trial after Boris Johnson publicly contradicted her defence, say her family.

Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe was informed she would be tried on charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime” at a hearing before the Revolutionary Court on Saturday, her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said yesterday.

She was told if found guilty she would face a double sentence as a repeat offender. The fresh charges came days after Mr Johnson told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that she had been training journalists in Iran when she was arrested – something that she has always denied.

Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe, a 38-year-old project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 as she was returning to Britain from a family visit with her three yearold daughter, Gabriella. The dual British-iranian national was separated from Gabriella who is in Iran with relatives.

Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe was jailed for five years after being found guilty of plotting to overthrow Iran’s government, charges she denied. Mr Johnson condemned her detention as a “mockery of justice” at a session of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday. He added: “If you look at what Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism as I understand it, at the very limit.” But Mr Ratcliffe said the comment may have led to the court hearing. “That’s not true,” he said. “Nazanin was on holiday in Iran when she was abducted.”

He added: “We demand a clear statement from the Foreign Secretary to correct his mistake,” he said. “It is important that the Foreign Secretary issues a correction, and that the Ambassador does in the Iranian media, before Nazanin is taken for sentencing, so that this mistake is not used against her.” He was supported by Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, who warned that Mr Johnson should “take full responsibility in both a moral and political sense” for the repercussions of his comments.

And the Thompson Reuters Foundation, Mrs Ratcliffe’s employer, demanded Mr Johnson retract the comment. “She has never trained journalists,” said Monique Villa, its CEO.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Mr Johnson’s remarks provided “no justifiable” basis to bring additional charges. The Iranian Embassy said in a statement last week: “Nazanin Zaghari has been detained in Iran and put in the fair trial because of her illegal acts … the verdict has been appealed according to the due judicial process but rejected by the appeal court. Mrs Zaghari’s prison term has not changed and her prison circumstances have not been altered.”

The Iranian government does not recognise dual nationals and therefore does not permit consular assistance.