Nazanin Zaghari Retried; Amnesty International Expresses Regret: Further Delay in Release Means More Pressure
Hojjat Kermani, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's lawyer, announced in an interview with Reuters on Sunday, March 14, that his client's court hearing will be held and expressed hope that Ms. Zaghari will be acquitted of the charge of "propaganda against the regime."
Noting that the trial was held in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, Mr. Kermani added: “Ms. Zaghari was calm and composed during the trial. The session was held in a calm atmosphere. The final defenses were made. Legally, the verdict should be announced within a week, but this depends on the judge. I have great hope that [Ms. Zaghari] will be acquitted.”
The Islamic Republic's judiciary has not yet commented on this matter.
Amnesty International's UK branch also tweeted: "While Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe should have been celebrating Mother's Day with her daughter, she was in court, facing a second charge. No verdict has yet been handed down and her condition remains unclear."
In another tweet, the organization criticized British political officials, stating: "It is regrettable that British officials did not attend the trial to show Nazanin the support she deserves. Further delay means more pressure and more anxiety. The British government should take action to release Nazanin as soon as possible."
On Sunday, March 8, Hojjat Kermani, the lawyer for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, told Iranian media that his client had been “released” from prison after five years in prison. Nazanin Zaghari had spent the last year of her sentence under “electronic monitoring” and house arrest due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked as a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested by the Islamic Republic's security forces on April 5, 2016, as she was leaving Iran after a family trip to Iran with her daughter.
She is accused of participating in the “soft overthrow” of the Islamic Republic through cooperation with foreign institutions and companies. Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin’s husband, has called the accusations against her “ridiculous.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has confirmed that he has at times discussed with British officials the possibility of paying money in exchange for the release of a British-Iranian. According to the Guardian, Zarif had said that if Britain had released the money, he would have negotiated the release of Nazanin Zaghari from prison.
The United States Department of State has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary and unjustified detention of American and foreign citizens, including dual-national Iranians, by the Islamic Republic government for the purpose of extorting and obtaining concessions from other countries, and has called for their immediate and unconditional release.
Source: Voice of America
