UK Foreign Secretary: Iran’s Treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘Unacceptable’; Concerns Over New Case for Dual Citizen
Britain’s Foreign Secretary has called Iran’s treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe “intolerable” in his first reaction to reports of the dual British-Iranian citizen’s release from electronic tagging, urging authorities to allow her to return to the UK.
Dominic Raab, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, tweeted on Sunday welcoming the removal of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s electronic ankle tag, stating that the Islamic Republic’s treatment of her was “intolerable.”
He said the UK should permit her immediate return to her family in Britain as soon as possible.
Simultaneously, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s continued detention is unacceptable.
On Sunday, March 8, Hojjat Kermani, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyer, informed Iranian media that his client had been “released” from prison after five years of detention. Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent the final year of her sentence under “electronic monitoring” and under house arrest due to the coronavirus outbreak.
News of her release came as her brother announced on Twitter that the electronic tag had been removed, but wrote that she must return to revolutionary court for another case.
Richard Ratcliffe, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, also said on Sunday that concerns persist about Nazanin’s continued detention, particularly regarding what he called “political differences” between Britain and Iran.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyer stated that in another case, Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court has scheduled a hearing for March 15, and Zaghari-Ratcliffe must answer charges of “propaganda activities against the system.”
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked as a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation charity, was arrested by Islamic Republic security forces on April 3, 2016, while leaving Iran after a family visit, traveling with her daughter.
She was accused of involvement in “soft overthrow” of the Islamic Republic through cooperation with foreign institutions and companies. Richard Ratcliffe has called these charges against her “absurd.”
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, confirmed that he has at times discussed with British officials payment of money in exchange for the release of a British-Iranian national. According to The Guardian, Zarif said that if Britain released that money, he would also advocate for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release from prison.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary and unlawful detention of American citizens and nationals of other countries, including dual Iranian-nationals, by the Islamic Republic government for purposes of extortion and leverage over other nations, and has called for their immediate and unconditional release.
