British Passport Sole Reason for Arrest, Imprisonment, and Execution in Iran
A British passport is the sole reason for the arrest, imprisonment, and even execution of individuals who travel to Iran.
The British Foreign Office has warned about travel to Iran by dual Iranian-British nationals and British subjects. The ministry has expressed concern regarding Iranians who hold British citizenship and intend to travel to Iran, speaking of the risk of arbitrary arrest, interrogation, detention, and execution by the Islamic Republic.
A statement released by the British Foreign Office yesterday, while referring to the arrest of British citizens and the execution of an Iranian-British citizen in January of this year in Iran, announced that merely possessing a British passport can make individuals targets of Iranian authorities, and warned that if detained in Iran, you may be imprisoned for months or years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also, referring to the process of trials in Iran which falls short of international standards, wrote: “If you are detained in Iran, you will be in the hands of Iranian authorities who have demonstrated their hostility toward Britain and its citizens, therefore our consular assistance to British subjects in Iran is severely limited. Iranian authorities have also associated individuals who had traveled to Iran with Britain, deeming them as inciting people to protests, and have accused them accordingly.”
The British Foreign Office has also warned regarding these individuals and wrote: “If you are in or near a demonstration, you face serious risk of arrest. Mass arrests of people including bystanders have repeatedly occurred. Anyone arrested in connection with protests who holds British citizenship may face suspicion of espionage or attempting to undermine the Iranian government, which carries the risk of prolonged detention, serious charges, and even death sentences.”
This ministry has also warned its citizens, as well as dual nationals, against traveling to Iran and requested that they refrain from doing so.
