Jeremy Hunt vows to help charity worker jailed in Iran
2 min read
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has promised the husband of a charity worker jailed in Iran for spying that he will do everything he can to secure her release.
Nasanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 after being accused of spying whilst on holiday with her 22-month-old daughter. She denies the allegations.
Mr Hunt met with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, on Thursday to discuss the case.
After the meeting, Mr Hunt said: “Good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family yesterday. It’s a shocking and desperate situation and they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin.
“We will do everything we can to bring her home.”
Mr Ratcliffe revealed to The Guardian that the meeting had been “open and positive”, with talks of granting diplomatic protection to Zaghari-Ratcliffe, which would make her case a state matter.
“Mr Hunt was also straight with us, also about his concerns. He encouraged his staff to be the same. It felt like a positive start.
“On diplomatic protection, we await the foreign secretary’s decision soon.”
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe is currently facing a further, unspecified security charge, which her family believes includes an allegation of spreading propaganda.
The family of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said that Boris Johnson’s resignation as foreign secretary had put her case “at the bottom of the pile”.
Mr Johnson has previously faced criticism about the case, after telling a parliamentary committee that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran to train journalists, which contradicted the claim that she was on holiday when she was arrested. He later apologised.
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