Possibility of Nazanin Zaghari’s Release; Presence of British Negotiating Delegation in Tehran
A British delegation has traveled to Tehran for negotiations, and the possibility of releasing Nazanin Zaghari, a dual-national prisoner in Iran, has strengthened.
According to a British House of Commons representative, Islamic Republic officials have returned British national Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe’s passport to her. The lawyer of this dual-national prisoner has also expressed hope regarding the possibility of her release.
After Hojjat Kermani, lawyer of Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, a dual-national prisoner in Iran, told Reuters on Tuesday, March 16, that “we hope to hear good news soon,” Tulip Siddiq, a British House of Commons representative, wrote in a tweet that Ms. Zaghari “after six years” has recovered her British passport. Stating that Nazanin Zaghari remains at her family home in Tehran, she announced: “Currently, a British negotiating team is in Tehran.”
Nazanin Zaghari is a 43-year-old Iranian-British citizen who was detained in 2016 while leaving Iran and subsequently faced security charges and was sentenced to five years in prison. Ms. Zaghari was temporarily released from prison in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, but a year later the court sentenced her again to another punishment.
Other dual-national or foreign citizens imprisoned in Iran include Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Emad Sharqi, and Morad Tahbaz (Iranian-American citizens); Mehrdad Raouf and Anoushe Ashouri (Iranian-British citizens); Ahmadreza Jalali (Iranian-Swedish researcher); Masoud Moghadaseh and Kamran Ghaderi (Iranian-Austrian citizens); Fariba Adelkhah (Iranian-French citizen) and Nahid Taghavi (Iranian-origin German citizen), as well as Benjamin Brière, a French tourist.
Source: Voice of America
