Johnson to discuss woman held in Iran jail with her husband
BORIS JOHNSON is due to meet Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband to discuss efforts to secure the release of the British-Iranian mother who is in prison in Tehran.
Richard Ratcliffe has secured a face-to-face meeting with the Prime Minister on Thursday as he seeks to increase the pressure to free his wife, who has been detained since 2016.
Mr Ratcliffe yesterday met the UK’s ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who has had his own brush with the Iranian justice system amid soaring tensions.
Fears have increased over Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s chances of freedom after the US killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, causing spiralling tensions in the Middle East.
Downing Street confirmed the PM – who has faced persistent criticism over his handling of the charity worker’s case – would meet Mr Ratcliffe at No 10.
Mr Ratcliffe previously said he wanted to meet Mr Johnson to hear him signal “this is a priority” and that he is “personally taking interest” in the case.
Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said the meeting was a “welcome step”, adding: “Given recent deeply unsettling events in Iran, it’s now all the more important that Boris Johnson provides proper reassurances to the family that real and concerted efforts are being made at the highest levels to secure Nazanin’s release.”
NAZANIN ZAGHARIRATCLIFFE:
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 40-yearold mother from London, is serving a five-year sentence after being arrested during a holiday with her daughter and accused of spying.
Her family and the UK Government have always maintained her innocence and she has been given diplomatic protection by the Foreign Office.
Diplomatic protection is a little-used mechanism by which the Government can try to help individuals it believes have been wronged by another state.
It means Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s treatment by Iran is a formal state issue and recognises that the legal proceedings brought against her failed to meet international standards. Mr Johnson has been persistently criticised for wrongly claiming, when he was foreign secretary, that she was training journalists at the time of her arrest.