Heartbreak for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as she loses latest Iran appeal
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family have ben left devastated after she lost her latest appeal in Iran.
The British-Iranian dual national’s one year sentence, plus a 12-month travel ban, has been ‘upheld with no court hearing’, said her MP, Tulip Siddiq.
The ruling means Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe could be sent back to prison ‘at any time’, said Ms Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.
She tweeted this afternoon urging Boris Johnson to intervene in the case – as she slammed the Prime Minister for failing to take sufficient action.
Ms Siddiq wrote: ‘Just spoke to my constituent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard.
‘Nazanin has lost her latest appeal and her sentence of 1 year plus 1 year travel ban is upheld with no court hearing.
‘She could now be returned to prison at any time. The PM must act now to #FreeNazanin.’
The news was ‘devastating’ for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her family and ‘millions around the world who care about her’, Ms Siddiq added.
‘For Nazanin to face a return to prison after the ordeal she’s been through is nothing short of a catastrophe.
‘It seems that every time we dare to hope that Nazanin might soon be free, there is another dreadful setback that puts freedom out of sight.
‘Whatever the Prime Minister has been doing to free Nazanin is clearly not working.
‘It’s time for the UK Government to pay the debt we owe to Iran, stand up to their despicable hostage taking and finally get Nazanin home.’
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran in 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
She was taking daughter Gabriella to see her family when she was arrested and sentenced to five years behind bars – spending four years in Evin Prison, one of the most infamous jails in the world.
She spent the final year of her sentence under house arrest in Iranian capital, Tehran.
But after being released this year, she was convicted of ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’.
It was claimed on Iranian state television in May this year that Britain would pay £400million to buy Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s freedom.
The family have reportedly been told by Iranian authorities how she is being held because of the UK’s failure to pay an outstanding debt.
Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, together with Ms Siddiq and Amnesty International, has spent years fighting for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s freedom.
Now the human rights organisation has also demanded the Prime Minister, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, take action.
Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said: ‘This is terrible news and is just more torment on top of five-and-a-half years of suffering for Nazanin and her family.
‘Nazanin was subjected to a deeply unfair original trial, was rushed through a farcical second court process and is now confronted by more time behind bars – it’s absolutely excruciating to see this happening.
‘We’ve said repeatedly that Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and others in Government need to genuinely step up on Nazanin’s case and other cases where British nationals are being persecuted in Iran.
‘We want to see action urgently, and this must include the Government setting out a clear strategy for securing the release of all British nationals unlawfully held in Iran.’
Ms Truss last month met with her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the United Nations General Assembly, where she ‘pressed’ him on the issue.
And she has vowed to ‘continue to press’ him on the issue until Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe returns home.
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
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