Nazanin Fateh Update

As reported here earlier last year the fate of Nazanin Fateh, who was to be hung in Iran for defending herself from rape, became a one woman cause for Canada's Miss World, who also shared Nazanin's first name. Nazanin Fateh got a new trial and while she is not going to face death she must now pay blood money.

According to Etemaad Newspaper in Iran, three out of the five judges in Nazanin's retrial have ordered that dieh "blood money" be paid to the family of the man who was killed, although the other two had recommended Nazanin's unconditional freedom.

This trial took place on January 10th, 2007 (20th of Dey 1385 in the Iranian calendar). The five judges that reviewed her case determined that the act was unintentional and was indeed a case of self-defense. As a result she was exonerated from the charge of murder, however the court also has ruled that disproportionate force was used by Nazanin while trying to defend herself and her 15-year old niece. Accordingly they have asked Nazanin to pay "dieh" retribution (blood money) to receive a pardon from the family of the deceased before she can be released from prison.

Nazanin's lawyers, Shadi Sadr and Mr. Mostafaei, intend to appeal the payment of blood money but since this may take several months, they also have requested bail so that Nazanin may be released from prison immediately. The court has set bail in the amount of 400,000,000 Rials (over US$40,000).

At this point, because Nazanin's family is very poor and unable to make payment of the bail or blood money your generosity is urgently requested to secure Nazanin Fatehi's freedom as soon as possible. The Nazanin Fatehi Trust fund has been set up. See Donations page.

See:

News Scoop: Nazanin Fateh

Feminism


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Double Jeopardy

This is a case of double jeopardy where in the victim is subjected to both the sexist regime of Sharia law in Iran and the ruling classes discrimination against ethnic minorities in Iran.

Today on Parliament Hill MP's from all parties gathered to denounce the pending death sentence for Nazanin Fatehi who killed a rapist attacking her. She is Kurdish in a largely Farsi country. Double Jeopardy.

Congratulations to all the Women MP's who united to make this case their cause and held an all party joint press conference withNazanin Afhin-Jam on Parliament Hill today to celebrate the news that a new trial for Nazanin Fatehi maybe pending.

Update: Nazanin's death sentence has been overturned by the Iranian head of Judiciary Ayatollah Shahroudi. The case will now be sent back to a lower court Read more

And congratulations to Nazanin Afhin-Jam who has used her celebrity for a just cause.Ex-beauty queen spearheads fight

Sign and spread this petition, started by the Canadian model and singer Nazanin Afshin-Jam.

The MP's should offer Canada as an asylum for Nazanin since we know she will not get a fair trial under the Ayatollahs.



18-year old Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi (f) was sentenced to death after she reportedly admitted stabbing to death one of three men who attempted to rape her and her niece in a park in Karaj in March 2005. She was 17 at the time. During her trial, she reportedly told the court “I wanted to defend myself and my niece. I did not want to kill that boy. At the heat of the moment I did not know what to do because no one came to our help”.

2 women unite in desperate cause

NAZANIN FATEHI: The Kurdish woman awaits execution in an Iranian prison for killing the man who tried to rape her NAZANIN AFSHIN-JAM: The Canadian model is leading a growing international campaign to spare the jailed woman's life

Bodog Music Recording Artist Nazanin Afshin-Jam Pleas to World Media, Kofi Annan and the UN to Save the Life of Another Nazanin in Iran

Save Nazanin

This website was created to spread information about the 18-year old Iranian girl Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi, who has been sentenced to death by hanging. Nazanin`s "crime" was killing a man who ambushed and tried to rape her. Please take a few moments to read about her case and what you can do to stop the execution and save Nazanin`s life.

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Fatehi, Afshin-Jam, Canada, Kurds, Iran, rape, execution, Stronach, Liberals, NDP, Conservatives, BQ, MPs, petition, UN, AI,womens-rights, feminism, feminist, death-penalty,

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Britain still can’t stand a brown woman speaking truth to power

Perspectives
Alia Waheed
28 Mar, 2022

Not even six years of being imprisoned and tortured in Iran has saved Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from racist and misogynistic attacks upon her return. She should have been applauded for calling out the UK government’s failures, writes Alia Waheed.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe rightly called out the UK government's failures during her imprisonment. [GETTY]

Just as how black women have to contend with the angry black woman trope, brown women from the Middle East and Asian sub-continent face the meek, submissive victim stereotype.

When Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe criticised the UK government upon her return from six years of imprisonment in Iran, she strayed from the script.

At a time when Nazanin should have been home, finally tucking her daughter into bed, she had to face the media, hungry for a soundbite.

Boy, did they get one.

When her husband thanked the current foreign secretary, Liz Truss, Nazanin did not. "I have seen five foreign secretaries change over the course of six years. How many foreign secretaries does it take for someone to come home?" she rightly asked. All the while, admirably remaining composed and dignified- something you wouldn’t expect from anyone who has experienced the intolerable conditions she has lived through.

''Many bigots commented that if she had been in Iran, she wouldn’t have been able to say what she did. Except she isn’t in Iran anymore, she’s back home in a country that proclaims to be a defender of freedom of speech and civil liberties.''

Within hours the hashtags #sendherback and #ungratefulcow were trending on Twitter with right-wing keyboard warriors accusing her of effectively biting the hand that freed her. Nazanin was on trial again, but this time it was a trial by social media because she dared to criticise the government’s long delay in securing her freedom.

Let’s not beat around the bush, the real reason she faced such vitriol is because she is a brown woman of Middle Eastern decent. She is considered part of the population normally left to drown on boats in the channel, not a strong and outspoken voice against human rights abuses and the UK government’s failures.

Nazanin was caught in the crosshairs of racism and misogyny. Women’s rights, it seems are selective, especially when it comes to women of colour. What a message to send during women’s history month in particular.

Brown girls are not supposed to be the angry ones, we are conditioned to believe that we are victims who silently endure the oppression dealt to us by our so-called backward communities. We are supposed to be seen and not heard, apart from in gratitude to our white saviours for saving us from our own brown, misogynist menfolk.

RELATED

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s homecoming should inspire action

Perspectives

Sonya Sceats

Many bigots commented that if she had been in Iran, she wouldn’t have been able to say what she did. Except she isn’t in Iran anymore, she’s back home in a country that proclaims to be a defender of freedom of speech and civil liberties. She had every right to say what she did. She should be celebrated for refusing to be a hypocrite and daring to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Anybody who is familiar with the details of her case will know her comments were completely justified. Nazanin, a dual British-Iranian citizen who worked for the Thomas Reuters Foundation charity was wrongly arrested on spying charges, something which she has always denied.

She missed out on the first six years of her daughter's life because of a catalogue of blunders by a string of foreign secretaries including Boris Johnson who blurted out that she was “simply teaching people journalism.” Except she wasn’t.

His ill-thought out remarks were an “inverted pyramid of piffle,” but were nevertheless weaponised in the Iranian state media and cited by the Iranian judiciary as evidence that she was engaged in “propaganda against the regime.” as usual, he got away with his faux pas while Nazanin didn’t.

His off the cuff remarks also handily obscured the real reason why she was languishing in prison for years - a dispute over the repayment of an acknowledged historic debt over a cancelled arms deal. Nazanin was paying the price for a 40-year-old dispute which started when she was three.

Nazanin was an inconvenient truth for the government, who was supposed to be brushed under the carpet. It was left to another brown Muslim woman, her local MP Tulip Siddiqui who tirelessly campaigned by her husband’s side for Nazanin’s release.

Her agonising years in captivity came to an end because the Tories decided they may need Iranian oil.

Yes she was wronged by the Iranian government, but she was wronged by the British government too. Accountability does not need to be rationed after all, and her case is one of so many failures by political leaders who should have acted better.

It is not her job to make Boris Johnson and Liz Truss feel good about themselves, and she is right not to let them off the hook. Nazanin addressing those facts is important to the preservation and defence of all our rights and freedoms.

Alia Waheed is a freelance journalist specialising in issues affecting Asian women in the UK and the Indian subcontinent.

Follow her on Twitter: @AliaWaheed

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe leaves Iran for UK after 5 years in prison, Boris Johnson confirms

2nd British-Iranian citizen Anoosheh Ashoori is also on his way home, says UK foreign secretary

Karim El-Bar |16.03.2022

Credit: https://twitter.com/TulipSiddiq

LONDON

British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on her way home after more than five years in an Iranian prison, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Wednesday.

A second British-Iranian citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, is also on his way home.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted: "I can confirm Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori will return to the UK today … They will be reunited with their families later today.”

On Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American businessman and conservationist now serving 10 years for “contacts with the US enemy government,” Truss said he had “been released from prison on furlough … We will continue to work to secure Morad's departure from Iran."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "I am very pleased to confirm that the unfair detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran has ended today, and they will now return to the UK.

"The UK has worked intensively to secure their release and I am delighted they will be reunited with their families and loved ones."

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, was arrested in 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow Iran’s government. She was in Iran visiting family, and has denied the charges.

Nevertheless, she was sentenced to five years in prison, spending four in Evin prison and a year under house arrest. As the end of her sentence neared, last April she was sentenced to a further year in prison.

Ashoori, 67, is a retired civil engineer. He was visiting his mother in Iran when he was arrested in 2017 on spying charges.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case has been extremely high profile in the UK, in large part due to the extraordinary efforts undertaken by her husband, Richard, to raise awareness and lobby for her release.

Her local MP Tulip Siddiq has also been extremely active, having lobbied five British foreign secretaries over the years to secure her release.

Siddiq tweeted: “Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. I came into politics to make a difference, and right now I’m feeling like I have.”

Reports say Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment was linked to a £400 million ($523 million) debt Iran says is owed to them by Britain for an unfulfilled order of 1,500 Chieftain tanks.

Truss told Sky News today that the £400 million is a “legitimate debt” and that it is a “priority to pay the debt that we owe to Iran.”

The government has refused to confirm or deny if the debt has been paid.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, British woman held captive by Iran since 2016, is released

Alexandra Ma , Sinéad Baker , and Henry Dyer

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Family Handout / PA

A British-Iranian woman detained by Iran since 2016 was released on Wednesday, her lawyer said.

Iran accused Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe of being a spy. Her family and the UK deny this.
She was held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran's capital.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who had been detained by Iran since 2016, was released Wednesday.

As of Wednesday morning UK time, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in the air departing Tehran, due to return to the United Kingdom late in the evening via Oman.

Anoosheh Ashoori, another British-Iranian dual national held by Iran, was also released and on his way out of the country. He was sentenced to ten years in jail in 2019 and accused of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and "acquiring illegitimate wealth," claims that he denies.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori's release Wednesday and said they were both returning to the UK.

Tulip Siddiq, the member of parliament for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's constituency, tweeted: "Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. I came into politics to make a difference, and right now I'm feeling like I have."

Siddiq also posted this photo, which she said shows Zaghari-Ratcliffe traveling home:

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager at the Thomson Reuters Foundation — a charity that does not work directly with the news agency — was arrested in Iran in 2016 and accused of being a spy.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken at a Tehran airport in April 2016 when she was returning home to London with her young daughter after visiting her parents.

An Iranian court convicted her of spying, training journalists, and plotting to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment. She, her family, and the British government have repeatedly denied the allegations.

She was held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, the Iranian capital. She was denied permission to seek medical attention even after she described finding lumps in her breast and being in a fragile mental state. Ashoori was also held in Evin Prison, his family said.

Truss said the release of the British nationals came "in parallel" with the settlement of a £393.8 million ($516 million) debt owed by the UK to Iran, which had been outstanding for more than 40 years since the Iranian Revolution.

The debt was created when the British government cancelled the delivery of military vehicles due to be delivered to the overthrown government led by the Shah of Iran. The terms of the agreement are confidential but the funds will be ringfenced for the purchase of humanitarian goods, Truss said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and the British government had been appealing for her release for almost six years.

Video shows BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling choking up as she announced news of the release.

In her Wednesday tweet, Truss also said Morad Tahbaz, a British-American wildlife conservationist whom Iran arrested in 2018 and accused of espionage, was temporarily released from prison in Iran. There has been no evidence to back Iran's claim about Tahbaz.

SDA a year late

Kate at SDA discovers Nazanin Afshin-Jam campaign to free an Iranian girl from a death sentence, a year late and a dollar shy. Canada's Most Relevant Womens Rights Activist

I reported on this last June when the MSM missed the press confernce Nazanin held on Parliament Hill with women MP's from all parties raising the issue of her namesake in Iran being sentenced to death for defending herself and her cousin from rapists.

And shock of shocks Kate also says something nice about Belinda Stronach.

Of course thats a cheeky headline, denying that there are other relevant womens rights activists in Canada but what do you expect from a rightwhingnutbar. Most of the Blogging Tories have ignored this important campaign.

And while she praises Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Belinda I wonder how much Kate donated for Nazanin Fateh's release. Since this is the first time she even bothered to blog about this important Canadian initiated campaign. Put money where mouth is.

Islamic Court Frees Iranian Teen From Death Sentence
CNW Telbec (Communiqués de presse), Canada - 5 hours ago
31 /CNW/ -- After two grueling years in prison, Iranian teen Nazanin Fatehi was released today and spared from her original death sentence following an ...
Former Miss Canada helps free jailed Iranian teen CBC British Columbia
Canadian-led campaign wins Iran teen's freedom Toronto Star
Islamic Court in Iran Spares Teenage Girl From Death Penalty

What is important to remember about this campaign is not just that it was about sexism of Sharia law in Iran but also about racism in Iran. Nazanin Fatehi is Kurdish.


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‘It was very emotional’: B.C. woman describes taking part in protests in Iran

By Negar Mojtahedi  Global News

Posted November 17, 2022 

Nazanin, a B.C. woman, recently returned home to Metro Vancouver from Iran after taking part in protests and witnessing events that have left her with nightmares.

“There was a young man shot in his chest and he had difficulty breathing,” Nazanin told Global News. She said the other protesters provided first aid because going to a hospital would get one arrested.

Global News is not revealing Nazanin’s identity for fear that speaking out could put her life in danger.

She left Iran before the uprisings were sparked in September by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died while in the custody of the so-called Morality Police for apparently wearing her hijab improperly.

1:31Vancouver resident describes his time at Evin Prison in Iran

Nazanin was in Iran to help a close family member with serious health issues and witnessed the country transform overnight.

“After the death of Amini people were so mad and upset at the Islamic Republic for 44 years of brutality, dictatorship, lack of human rights and lying to people,” she said.

She described the night she joined protests as a defining moment in her life.

“The Basiji attacked us with tear gas and shooting. We all run away and one kind man opened his door and we rushed to his home.”

She said her eyes were burning from tear gas.

READ MORE: Iranian-born Canadian fears for his friends in Iranian prison where he spent 11 years

A protestor, she said, warned her not to touch her eyes and blew cigarette smoke towards her eyes to help relieve the stinging pain.

She said it was beautiful to witness unity and bravery but devastating to witness the inhumane crackdown of protestors.

“I had a mixture of feelings. Excited and hopeful for Iran to proud of (the) young generation especially women standing up against the dictatorship, demanding their own human rights,” Nazanin said. “On the other hand, I was so sad to be witness of how they beating up people, shooting and I was worried and scared not only for myself but for all young brave people.”

Out of 290 MPs in Iran, 227 of them recently called on the judiciary to issue death sentences to all imprisoned protesters.

At least five protestors have already been sentenced to death. The United Nations said nearly 15,000 protestors are imprisoned and at least 300 killed – including nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, killed in the crackdown.

View image in full screen

Kian Pirfalak. @1500Tasvir

While people await their death sentences, Zohreh Elahian and Kazem Gharibabadi, two of the MPs who voted in favour of calling for the execution of protesters, travelled to New York to attend UN General Assembly’s meetings.

Nazanin feared for her life travelling back to Canada.

She was anxious at the airport in Iran, terrified a security officer at the airport would arrest her. She erased all photos and videos from her cellphone and said she prepared herself for the worst-case scenario.

READ MORE: Crackdown in Kurdish region of Iran hits home for Port Moody, B.C. woman

Four decades ago, Nazanin’s cousin, a political prisoner, was executed by the Islamic Republic.

Nazanin said she waited nearly 44 years for that moment to stand up against the regime, and did so in honour of her late cousin.

She said she had tears in her eyes taking to the streets.

“It was very emotional time, I can’t explain with many words. We were waiting 44 years for that moment and I was there and that made me very happy.”

A moment she is hopeful is on the road to a revolution.

MP Says Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Has Been Freed And Is "At The Airport In Tehran And On Her Way Home"

(Alamy)

Eleanor Langford

The MP for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said the British citizen, who has been detained in Iran since April 2016, is returning to the UK after having her British passport returned.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq claimed on Tuesday that a British negotiating team had travelled to Iran, and that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been given her British passport back.

The British-Iranian dual national was arrested at Imam Kohmeini airport and sentenced to a five-year term in prison for the charge of spying, an an allegation she strongly denies.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that talks over the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British citizens detained in Iran were "moving forward".

"I shouldn't really say much more right now just because those negotiations continue to be under way and we're going right up to the wire," he claimed earlier.

Talks to free British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘going up to the wire’

Hopes have been raised after an MP revealed yesterday that the 43-year-old’s British passport had been returned to her.


Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 as she prepared to fly back to the UK.

NEGOTIATIONS WITH TEHRAN to free British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe are “moving forward” and are “going right up to the wire”, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

The Prime Minister raised hopes today that the six-year ordeal could come to a close after suggestions the mother of one has had her passport returned.

But Johnson, during a trip to the Middle East, was cautious not to elaborate further on the state of negotiations with Tehran “because those negotiations continue to be under way”.

A glimmer of optimism for the 43-year-old came a day earlier when her constituency MP in Hampstead and Kilburn, Tulip Siddiq, said she had been returned her British passport.

‘Moving forward’

Johnson confirmed a British negotiating team was working in Tehran to secure the release of dual nationals, while Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe remains at her family home in the Iranian capital.

“I really don’t think I should say much more, I’m sorry, although things are moving forward,” he told broadcasters at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi.

“I shouldn’t really say much more right now just because those negotiations continue to be under way and we’re going right up to the wire.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 as she prepared to fly back to the UK, having taken her daughter Gabriella – then not even two years old – to see relatives.

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Tehran’s Evin Prison and one under house arrest.

Both the British government and Zaghari-Ratcliffe have always denied the allegations.

While the details of the negotiations remain unclear, it is possible they are linked to a £400 million (€475m) debt dating back to the 1970s owned to Iran by the UK.

The government accepts it should pay the “legitimate debt” for an order of 1,500 Chieftain tanks that was not fulfilled after the shah was deposed and replace by a revolutionary regime.

Tehran remains under strict sanctions, however, which have been linked to the failure to clear the debt.

Explainer
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Could deal over £400m tank debt secure British-Iranian mother's freedom?

Boris Johnson confirms that "conversations are still going on" to secure the release of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was first arrested by Iranian authorities six years ago.


Tom Rayner
Digital politics editor @RaynerSkyNews
Wednesday 16 March 2022 07:07, UK

Boris Johnson has said he does not want to "tempt fate" by commenting on negotiations currently taking place to secure the freedom of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The prime minister confirmed on Tuesday that "conversations are still going on" to secure the release of the British-Iranian mother.

She was first arrested by Iranian authorities six years ago on accusations she had been conspiring against the country's government - charges she has always denied.

Hopes are now growing that her release could be imminent after Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's MP - Tulip Siddiq - claimed in a social media post that her passport had been returned and that a British negotiating team were in Tehran.


What is being negotiated?

There has not been any official account of the nature of negotiations taking place, which are understood to also relate to other consular cases involving dual British-Iranian nationals.

However, earlier this year, the PM did not deny there were efforts to strike a deal that would see the UK government settle an historical debt dispute with Iran.

During PMQs on 9 February, Ms Siddiq said she understood a deal signed between the UK government and the Iranian authorities in the summer of 2021 "that would have resulted in the payment of the £400m that we owe Iran and the release of my constituent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe" had fallen through.

Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says this move is the 'most significant chink of light for many years.'

She urged the PM to personally meet her and Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, to explain why the agreement had broken down.

Mr Johnson responded: "The International Military Services, or IMS, debt is difficult to settle and square away for all sorts of reasons to do with sanctions.

"But we will continue to work on it and I will certainly make sure that we have another meeting with Richard Ratcliffe in due course."

What is the IMS debt?

Following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the British government cancelled an order for 1,500 Chieftain tanks and armoured vehicles.

The order was being handled by what was then the Ministry of Defence's arms-trading subsidiary - International Military Services.

The order had already been paid for when it was cancelled. The debt owed following the non-delivery of the tanks is estimated at £400m.

Last November, Foreign Office minister James Cleverley told MPs the government accepts liability for the debt, but said settling the matter was "not easy" due to sanctions imposed on Iran.

"The UK government recognise that we have a duty to legally repay this debt and we continue to explore all legal options to resolve this 40-year-old case," he said in the House of Commons.

But he added: "We do not accept British dual nationals being used as diplomatic leverage."

A High Court hearing on the question of the IMS debt repayment had been scheduled for April 2021 but was adjourned at the request of the Iranian defence ministry. A new hearing date has yet to be set.

Mr Ratcliffe has previously accused the government of being "too timid" in its negotiations with Iran, and recently went on hunger strike to put pressure on ministers to go further to secure his wife's release.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her daughter Gabriella, pictured in 2016

Is there any connection to the Iran nuclear deal negotiations?

Since his election, US President Joe Biden has been working to re-establish the Iran nuclear deal, which his predecessor Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

Those talks have increased in intensity in recent months, with reports the US could be close to rejoining the agreement - despite complications caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aims to ease sanctions on Iran in return for limits being put on Tehran's nuclear programme.

It was signed by the US, UK, China, France, Germany, Russia, the EU and Iran in 2015.

Last summer, Iran's main negotiator accused Western countries of delaying talks around prisoners to force Iran into JCPOA negotiations before a new government was in place.

Both the US administration and UK government have repeatedly insisted there is no connection between the efforts to negotiate the release of dual national prisoners and the nuclear talks.

However, following the JCPOA's initial implementation in 2016, Barack Obama's administration did secure the release of four American prisoners from Iran.

 

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces new charge, Iranian media reports

State TV says British-Iranian dual national appeared in Tehran court on Tuesday

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been under effective house arrest after her release from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic after serving nearly all of her five-year sentence. Photograph: Reuters

Associated Press in Tehran

Tue 8 Sep 2020 

The British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces a new, unspecified charge, according to a report on Iranian state TV, which also said she had appeared in court on Tuesday morning.

The report did not elaborate beyond saying Zaghari-Ratcliffe has appeared before a branch of the country’s revolutionary court in Tehran, where she was first sentenced in 2017.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq said she had spoken to Zaghari-Ratcliffe who confirmed she was taken to court on Tuesday morning and told she was facing another trial on Sunday.

I've been in touch with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and can confirm that she was taken to court this morning and told she will face another trial on Sunday.

I know many people are concerned about her welfare and I'll keep everyone updated when we have more information #FreeNazanin

— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) September 8, 2020

Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been under effective house arrest following her release from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic after serving nearly all of her five-year sentence. She has been wearing an ankle tag that limits her movements to within 300 metres (984ft) of her parents’ home in Tehran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her daughter in April 2016. Her family says she was in Iran to visit family, denying she was plotting against the state. She was accused of plotting the “soft toppling” of Iran’s government.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency.

The new charge comes after Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family linked her detention to Iran’s negotiations with the British government over a £400m settlement ($530m) held by London, a payment the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made for Chieftain tanks that were never delivered.

Tehran has denied her detention was linked to the negotiations. The charges could be an attempt to gain new leverage in the negotiations.

Iran was hit hard by the coronavirus early this year, becoming the worst-affected country in the Middle East. Since then, it has reported more than 391,000 cases and 22,542 deaths.

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• Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Timeline

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3 April 2016

Arrest in Tehran

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella.

2016

Release campaign begins

Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release.

9 September 2016

Sentenced

She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret.

November 2016

Hunger strike

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment.

24 April 2017

Appeal fails

Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction.

1 November 2017

Boris Johnson intervenes

Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family.

12 November 2017

Health concerns

Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”.

3 August 2018

Hunt meets husband

New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home."

23 August 2018

Temporary release

She is granted a temporary three-day release from prison.

14 January 2019

Hunger strike

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care.

8 March 2019

Diplomatic protection

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection – a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.

17 May 2019

Travel warning

The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.

15 June 2019

Hunger strike in London

Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she begins a third hunger strike protest in prison.

29 June 2019

Hunger strike ends

Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends her hunger strike by eating some breakfast. Her husband also ends his strike outside the embassy.

17 July 2019

Moved to mental health ward

According to her husband, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was moved from Evin prison to the mental ward of Imam Khomeini hospital, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have prevented relatives from contacting her.

11 October 2019

Zaghari-Ratcliffe's five year old daughter Gabriella, who has lived with her grandparents in Tehran and regularly visited her mother in jail over the last three years, returns to London in order to start school.

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