Dominic Raab, the British Foreign Secretary, called on Iran to end the “cruel and intolerable ordeal” endured by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as she faced another court case despite her release from house arrest.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, was jailed in Iran five years ago on espionage charges which she has always denied and has been under house arrest in Tehran since March 2020.
Her lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, said she was “in good shape and happy to be released” after her ankle tag was removed on Sunday, but said it was not clear if she could leave. Iran and travel to London to join his family immediately. .
Richard Ratcliffe, her husband, said a new lawsuit against her was scheduled for next Sunday.
Raab criticized the Iranian government in a statement. “She must be released for good in order to be able to return to her family in the UK. We will continue to do all we can to achieve this, ”said the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “We have made it clear to the Iranian authorities in the strongest terms that his continued detention is unacceptable.”
Tulip Siddiq, Labor MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said Zaghari-Ratcliffe – a former London Borough resident – could visit her elderly grandmother now that her ankle tag has been removed.
“On the one hand, they are celebrating that it has elements of freedom in terms of not having the tracker anymore,” the MP said.
But the 42-year-old dual national, who has a six-year-old daughter, has still not received her British passport.
“She has to go back to court and we don’t know what awaits her there,” Siddiq said. “Nazanin is very worried because there has been talk of another case being brought against her, which could of course mean another sentence, and we don’t know how long will last.
