With the return of British National Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe’s daughter to the U.K. yesterday, the hashtag #FreeNazanin began trending on Twitter.
Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran on trumped-up charges since 2016 when she was arrested after visiting family with her then two-year-old daughter.
Nazanin’s daughter Gabriella was left stranded in Iran with her grandparents and separated from her British father until now, as the Iranian authorities also confiscated the child’s passport and refused to grant her father a visa to come and retrieve her.
Late last night, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s daughter, Gabriella, came home after more than 1300 days in Iran. She is now reunited with her dad Richard, but her mum remains a hostage in prison in Iran. The fight to #FreeNazanin continues. pic.twitter.com/Uapz3OCaCG
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) October 11, 2019
Nazanin was originally held in solitary confinement for 83 days before being charged with sedition and “fomenting a soft overthrow” of the Iranian government.
According to the Iranian authorities, she helped design a website related to the 2009 protests, when thousands of Iranians protested what they believed to be the rigging of an election, using Twitter and other internet-based services to coordinate their actions.
Nazanin’s husband claims the U.K. Foreign Office was downright unhelpful until he went public with the case, seeming to prioritize trade over his wife.
Initially sentenced to five years, Nazanin was on the verge of early release after eighteen months when new charges were raised, including “membership of an illegal group,” due to her work with BBC Media Action. The Iranian government considers the BBC to be a tool of British espionage.
The BBC went on record saying Nazanin had merely worked as an administrative assistant during her time with the company. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson—who was foreign secretary at the time—incorrectly described Nazanin as having trained journalists in Iran, which the Iranian authorities took as proof of her guilt.
Yes we must make sure that #BorisJohnsonLies bears the full brunt of Nazanin ‘s incarceration he is totally responsible for adding to her unfair sentence! #FreeNazanin
— Fillum (Ann) 🟥#FBPE #JKR🕷#GTTO💙💜🤍💚🇺🇦 (@McDowellBt) October 11, 2019
Despite finally being given diplomatic protection by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2019, Iran refused to recognize this and release her.
But with Iran no longer obstructing Gabriella’s return to the U.K., Nazanin and her husband decided that the now five-year-old should go live there with her father to start schooling.
Due to spending the last three years with her maternal grandparents in Iran, Gabriella now predominantly speaks Farsi with very little English.
With very real concerns for Nazanin’s psychological and physical wellbeing now that she can’t see her daughter anymore during what scant visiting time was allowed, Nazanin’s husband Richard and their supporters are making a renewed call for her release.
“It has been a long journey to have her home, with bumps right until the end … of course the job is not yet done until Nazanin is home.”#FreeNazaninhttps://t.co/8rK59koUSH
— Free Nazanin (@FreeNazanin) October 11, 2019
@BorisJohnson Gov must do everything to ensure a #UK charity worker does not die in prison in Iran amid growing concerns over her physical & mental health #FreeNazanin@Geoffrey_Cox@DominicRaab @Jeremy_Hunt@AWMurrison
— #NazaninZaghari #FreeNazanin (@Mandee_Lavan) October 9, 2019
Many MPs want to send @JustinWelbyhttps://t.co/GyqYTPc6tc
Nazanin has made a heartbreaking sacrifice. She didn’t want her daughter to leave while she was still in prison. There is a real risk Nazanin’s mental & physical condition will deteriorate further now that her support – Gabriella – has left. #FreeNazanin https://t.co/lcIFxxG2MC
— Stephen Quentin (@Stephen_Quentin) October 11, 2019
Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and current incumbent Dominic Raab have also called for her to be freed.
This must be the definition of bittersweet. Govt must redouble efforts to bring Nazanin home. Now more than ever, she needs to know she’s not alone. #freenazanin https://t.co/s0mfoVjWiG
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) October 11, 2019
“Gabriella is an innocent child and should be able to go to school and be with both her parents,” said @DominicRaab. “We continue to urge Iran to release Nazanin immediately so the family can be reunited in the UK.” #FreeNazanin https://t.co/jxrWAn4StM
— Stephen Quentin (@Stephen_Quentin) October 11, 2019
Nazanin is not the only Iranian dual national imprisoned over dubious charges, with many British-Iranian citizens also jailed over the last few years.
Though both the British and Iranian governments officially deny it, many consider these prisoners to be hostages held over the £400 million debt the British government owes Iran, and today MP Tulip Sadique, who represents Nazanin and Richard, revealed that the Iranian authorities told Nazanin and her family that this is the real reason behind her imprisonment.
Welcome home our little girl. Now we wait for your mummy, and other loved ones of ours who are being held hostage by #Iran regime. #FreeNazanin #FreeNamazis and all other dual nationals and political prisoners in Iran. For now, though, we celebrate your return. xxxxx https://t.co/6QiixnsNoF
— Maryam Namazie مریم نمازی (@MaryamNamazie) October 11, 2019
#FreeNazanin
— Amanda🌍 #FreeThemAll (@Amandalavan1) October 11, 2019
I ask all human rights defenders, those who care,anyone who can find time,tweet @BorisJohnson @Jacob_Rees_Mogg @Geoffrey_Cox @sajidjavid @Jeremy_Hunt @DominicRaab Please for the love of anyone’s God pay your debt, find a way! Not a ransom. Just pay your 40yr old debt pic.twitter.com/WbKvP2pYBx
I tweeted earlier about the UK’s long standing financial debt to Iran. So pleased the tireless MP @TulipSiddiq has brought the issue front and centre again. #FreeNazanin https://t.co/8InPUKIMBO
— Susan Farrow (@susanfarrowpn) October 11, 2019
Richard Ratcliffe is currently pushing for a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss Johnson working for Nazanin’s release.
Johnson has yet to respond.
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