Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘Transferred to Psychiatric Hospital and Under IRGC Control’

The Free Nazanin campaign confirmed that this Iranian-British citizen was transferred on Monday from her place of detention in Evin Prison to the psychiatric ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital and is now under the custody of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s father, who went to Imam Khomeini Hospital on Tuesday, July 16, says she is being held in the psychiatric ward of the hospital under IRGC supervision.

The Free Nazanin campaign’s statement said: Despite her father waiting for hours at the hospital, he was not allowed to visit his daughter. This is unusual. It has now been 36 hours that she is in IRGC custody and access by legal representatives or family members has been cut off.

The statement added: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s father does not know what type of treatment his daughter is undergoing or why the IRGC is involved in her treatment process. It is also unclear how long Nazanin will remain in the psychiatric hospital.

The report clarifies that the neurology and psychiatry ward of the hospital is under IRGC control and the Zaghari-Ratcliffe family has been denied permission to visit her.

According to the report, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has not been allowed to speak with her family by telephone.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation charity, was detained by the IRGC on April 3, 2016, at the airport while departing Iran. Ms. Zaghari was accused by the IRGC of collaborating with institutions opposed to the Islamic Republic and participating in “soft overthrow” activities, and the court sentenced her to five years in prison. Accusations that she and her lawyer have denied.

Following the detention of an Iranian oil tanker in the waters of Gibraltar, which is administered under British sovereignty, there was speculation on social media regarding an exchange involving Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

However, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, rejected these reports.

Source: Radio Farda