Nazanin Zaghari's husband goes on hunger strike in front of the Iranian embassy; embassy entrance temporarily closed
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari, a British-Iranian citizen imprisoned in Iran, went on a hunger strike in front of the Islamic Republic's embassy in London, at the same time as his wife's hunger strike in prison.
According to the Guardian newspaper, Mr. Ratcliffe announced the start of his hunger strike on Sunday, June 16, coinciding with his daughter's birthday celebration, saying that he would continue his hunger strike as long as he could to achieve results in their efforts to release Nazanin Zaghari after three years in prison and return her and their daughter to Britain.
Their daughter, Gabriella, now five years old, cannot leave Iran for the UK.
Mr. Ratcliffe announced on Saturday that Nazanin Zaghari had been on a hunger strike since that day, coinciding with her daughter's fifth birthday. According to him, Nazanin Zaghari "has informed the Iranian judiciary of her renewed hunger strike in protest at her unjust imprisonment."
Richard Ratcliffe began his hunger strike in front of the Iranian embassy in London while holding pictures of Nazanin Zaghari and their daughter.
Following Mr. Ratcliffe's hunger strike and the presence of journalists and a number of citizens, Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran's ambassador to London, posted several tweets on Sunday to protest what he called "the blocking of the entrance to the Iranian embassy in London by a number of protesters."
Announcing that these individuals spent yesterday and last night in front of the embassy, he wrote: "Today, in addition to individuals, the media have gathered in front of the embassy to prepare a report. The walkway in front of the embassy is still blocked and diplomats are not allowed to move around."
The hunger strike of Nazanin Zaghari and her husband has begun while Nazanin Zaghari and imprisoned civil activist Narges Mohammadi had previously gone on a hunger strike in January 2018 to protest the lack of medical care provided by prison officials.
On April 6, 2016, while she was planning to return to London with her two-year-old daughter after visiting family in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari was arrested at Tehran International Airport and later sentenced to five years in prison on security charges.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards accused Ms. Zaghari of teaching journalism to media outlets abroad, but she denied the accusations, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation officially stated that she was a simple employee in the foundation's administrative department.
Recently, Iranian judicial authorities have spoken of another "open case" for Ms. Zaghari, which they say will be handled after "the previous case is determined and resolved."
Western analysts say the Islamic Republic uses dual nationals as hostages to extract money and privileges from Western governments.
Source: Voice of America
