Nazanin Zaghari to Face Trial Again Next Week
The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual Iranian-British citizen, says he was suddenly notified on Tuesday that his wife must appear in court next Monday presided over by Judge Solwati.
Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin Zaghari’s husband, said on Wednesday that his wife was told to pack her suitcase for prison and be ready whenever IRGC personnel come to take her away.
The request to prepare for imprisonment and court appearance on Monday comes as reports have emerged about a possible six-month delay in the court case regarding Britain’s debt to Iran, and notably, this court case is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, one day after Ms. Zaghari’s court hearing.
The Islamic Republic says the British government owes Iran approximately 400 million pounds due to its failure to deliver Chieftain tanks, which were part of a contract signed over four decades ago between the Pahlavi regime and the British government at the time.
Mr. Ratcliffe has previously stated repeatedly that the Islamic Republic is using his wife as a hostage to obtain this money.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said last autumn that Britain had proposed that in exchange for Ms. Zaghari’s release, “400 million pounds of Iran’s seized assets be unfrozen.”
According to him, this proposal was first raised by Philip Hammond, Britain’s former foreign secretary, before he left the position in July 2016, but Britain did not implement it.
Zarif said in response to this proposal, he was prepared to “argue in court for Nazanin Zaghari’s release.”
Ms. Zaghari was sent on leave last spring due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus in Iranian prisons and is currently under house arrest.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ratcliffe also spoke with the British Foreign Secretary and emphasized the importance of consular access for Ms. Zaghari.
The summons of Ms. Zaghari to court presided over by Judge Solwati—someone known for harsh treatment and lengthy imprisonment of political and civil activists—comes as Ms. Zaghari’s sentence ends this spring, and she is now set to be tried again on charges of “propaganda against the system.”
Ms. Zaghari, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 at Imam Khomeini Airport while leaving Iran by the IRGC’s intelligence protection unit and was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “attempting soft overthrow,” charges that she, her lawyer, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation have strongly denied.
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Nazanin Zaghari was released on bail from Evin Prison on March 17 last year. Her release on bail with an electronic ankle monitor has been extended several times since and does not allow her to travel more than 300 meters away from her parents’ home.
Source: Radio Farda
