Hunger Strike of Nazanin Zaghari’s Husband; ‘It’s Time for Britain to Change Its Approach’

Nazanin Zaghari was detained at Tehran airport more than five years ago upon returning from a trip to visit her family. She spent approximately four years in prison, and now that her five-year prison sentence has ended, she faces the risk of being returned to prison once again on a new charge.

Her husband in London has been trying for a long time to bring Ms. Zaghari back home. In this regard, he has complained both about what he calls “hostage-taking” by the Iranian government and about the British government’s performance in securing his wife’s release. Mr. Ratcliffe has repeatedly asked the British government to pay its debt to Tehran regarding a military contract from before the 1357 [1979] Revolution, so that Nazanin Zaghari and other imprisoned British citizens can return to their families.

At the end of the ninth day of his protest movement, Richard Ratcliffe spoke to Radio Farda about his physical condition, his experience during these days, and how his wife and daughter are coping.

First, I’d like to ask how you are doing after 9 days?

Honestly, it’s cold. November in London is cold weather, and when you don’t eat, you feel the cold sooner. As a result, I’ve put on three layers of jackets and all kinds of clothes, but I’m not getting warm. I’m not very hungry, but I’m much more tired. My movements have slowed down and even my speech and thinking have become slow. But I’m pushing forward. Last time I was in front of the Iranian embassy for 15 days. And I remember the last few days were very difficult. So now each day becomes a little harder than the day before.

On the first night when you set up a tent in front of the Foreign Office, police came to see you after midnight. How is the situation now? How are you coping with being on that pavement?

That’s right. The police had been contacted, and at 3:45 in the morning they rudely woke me up. Of course, after I explained what was going on, they said okay, go to sleep and tomorrow we’ll talk to higher authorities. The next day someone from the police came and said we can continue our protest, but said be careful.

Since then, the police haven’t caused any disturbance, but security personnel have shown up, filmed us with their cameras, and they’re keeping an eye on us; but it hasn’t been more than that. And well, during these days British politicians came here, members of Parliament, the Mayor of London, and well this situation makes us feel safer and keeps attention on us.

What do these people say to you? What is the message of these politicians?

The messages vary but overall are supportive of me and Nazanin, sympathetic to what has happened, and hopeful that [this situation] will end soon. Sometimes they spend more time and get more involved. For example, Jeremy Hunt, the former Foreign Secretary, has come here a few times; once in the morning he came with a bicycle and a drink. He went more into the details and asked what the new Foreign Secretary had said and was generally trying to understand what the problem is, that even since two years ago when he was no longer Foreign Secretary, this story continues. But overall, everyone comes here to show their support.

Usually when someone goes on a hunger strike, one of the efforts by supporters is to encourage the person to end the hunger strike. Did these people also raise such requests?

The Members of Parliament who came didn’t want such a thing. And in a meeting we had with Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, she didn’t make such a request. She talked about Nazanin’s case and that they are working hard on it, but she didn’t say please end your hunger strike.

I’m sure the Foreign Office is not happy about this, and you’re right. This is a short-term strategy because if it continues further, it could reach a point where it sends me to the hospital. But I think the government is waiting for this to pass and for me to stop the hunger strike myself. But I still say that their approach to Iran is wrong, and their approach to the debt issue needs to change as well.

Mr. Ratcliffe, you have been spending day and night on a pavement for more than a week. Last week, photos of your daughter Gabriella alongside you in this protest movement were published. How does she view this situation?

That’s right. Last week was school holidays and she spent several hours here with me on some days. We did various activities together. For example, one day before Halloween, we hollowed out and prepared a pumpkin for decoration. We decorated the area around my tent together, drew a lot of paintings and that sort of thing.

As a result, with these activities she’s been happy with other children, but she doesn’t think about the subject very deeply. For example, she says dad has set up a tent here and is camping and for a few days can’t eat food. The first few nights when I wasn’t there, it wasn’t easy for her and she had nightmares and would jump out of sleep, but now it’s better and my sister and her children are with her.

Of course, Nazanin is concerned about what impact this situation will have on Gabriella, and naturally the longer this hunger strike continues, the harder it will become.

You are doing all these things and actions because you want your wife to be able to return to Britain. What does she think about this recent action of yours?

Well, she’s probably very worried. Worried that her husband has gone on a hunger strike in the cold street, worried about what effect this will have on her daughter, and worried about when the call will come to return her to prison.

The most important reason I went on a hunger strike was that the Iranian authorities said they wouldn’t accept the request for reconsideration, and at any moment they might call to return her to prison. We put pressure on the British government to do something, they said they won’t do anything until Nazanin is taken back to prison, and that’s why we had to do something.

As a result, as many Iranian listeners know, this form of operation of the Iranian prison system creates severe anxiety.

When will you decide to end your hunger strike?

I’m still waiting for a better response from the British government. Right now is the time for the British government to change its approach in condemning Iran’s hostage-taking behavior and protecting Nazanin. As a result, we will continue for a little longer to see what response they will show.

Source: Radio Farda