Nazanin Zaghari-led Iranian regime re-tried; British MP: These 'mind games' must stop

The first court hearing on new charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen detained in Iran, was held without a representative from Britain present, despite repeated requests from that country.

According to the Associated Press, Richard Ratcliffe, Zaghari's husband, issued a statement saying that Zaghari was unable to present her defense during the brief hearing held on Monday, November 3. Mr. Ratcliffe's statement said that a date for the next court hearing has not yet been set.

The British newspaper The Guardian also reported that Ms. Zaghari's husband told Tulip Siddique, his local MP in the British Parliament, that they were concerned about Nazanin being sent to Evin Prison; but the hearing was postponed before she could present her defense.

Despite repeated requests from the British Foreign Office, no representative from the country was present at the court.

Ms. Seddiq tweeted: "The psychological torture continues. [Nazanin Zaghari's] safety is my top priority and these psychological games must stop."

Nazanin Zaghari has been on leave since March due to the coronavirus outbreak and is in her parents' home under electronic monitoring. She has served four and a half years of her five-year sentence.

Ms. Zaghari's family says there is no new evidence in the new charges filed with her lawyers.

Last week, Ms. Zaghari was informed that a second trial was being held and was told to bring clothes with her, as she would be returning to prison from there.

Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin Zaghari's husband, says the use of "the court process as a negotiation tactic by the Revolutionary Guards" has had a profound negative impact on Nazanin and her family.

The British Foreign Office has called the new charges against Nazanin Zaghari unfounded. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that if Ms. Zaghari is returned to prison, current relations between Iran and the United Kingdom will change.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested by IRGC agents at the airport along with her young daughter in June 2016 while returning from Tehran to London and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

He worked with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity that helps develop media around the world. He is accused of participating in the “soft overthrow” of the Islamic Republic through cooperation with foreign institutions and companies.

The United States of America has also repeatedly condemned the unjustified and arbitrary detention of American and other citizens, including dual Iranian nationals, by the Islamic Republic regime and called for their immediate and unconditional release.

Source: Voice of America