New Restrictions Imposed on Nazanin Zaghari; She Can Only See Her Five-Year-Old Daughter Once a Month

Nazanin Zaghari, a British-Iranian citizen imprisoned in Iran, faces new restrictions in prison.

According to a report from the Twitter page of the Free Nazanin Zaghari campaign, this British-Iranian citizen imprisoned in Iran can now only meet with her daughter “Gabriel” once a month. This new restriction applies to all female political prisoners in Evin Prison, who can only visit with their young children once a month.

According to the report, these prisoners have also been deprived of making phone calls outside of Iran. As a result, Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin Zaghari’s husband, can no longer make phone contact with her.

Nazanin Zaghari, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was detained on April 6, 2016 at Tehran International Airport while attempting to return to London with her two-year-old daughter after visiting family in Iran, and was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison on security charges.

The detention of dual nationals in Iran has a long history, and Western analysts say the Islamic Republic uses dual nationals as hostages to extract money and concessions from Western governments.

Currently, in addition to Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, several American and non-American citizens—including Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Michael White, Zhou Wang, and Aras Amiri—are imprisoned in Iran. The fate of Robert Levinson, another American citizen who disappeared in Iran more than twelve years ago, remains unknown.

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary and unlawful detention of American citizens and citizens of other countries, including dual-national Iranians, by the Islamic Republic regime and has called for their immediate and unconditional release.

Source: Voice of America