An open letter to His Excellency Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, The Supreme Leader, The Islamic Republic of Iran

I am reaching out to you again with great respect and appealing to you in relation to the condition and circumstances of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (Nazanin).

Nazanin remains imprisoned in Evin prison parted from her very young daughter and her husband. Today, as I write this letter to you, Nazanin has endured over 1,000 days in custody.

Iran has many mysteries - from the architectural splendour of the mosques of Isfahan, linked as they are by the lines and arcs of the Golden Ratio - to the debate on whether Christianity’s three Magi came from the area which is now northern Iran. Iran has given the world the architect of the Taj Mahal as well as Sa’adi, Rumi, Khayyam and, of course, Hafez.

You know in your heart of hearts that Nazanin is innocent of the charges. You know the truth of these words as you do the spirit in which they are written. Indeed, one of your judges told Nazanin that she was held because the UK owes Iran money. In thinking about Nazanin’s ordeal, I cannot help but think about the words of Sa’adi’s poem Bani Adam (the Children of Adam), written in the 13th century, which decorate the United Nations building in New York, a rough English translation of which is below:

The Sons of Adam are the members of a whole

Each is created from a greater, single soul

Whenever Fate to one of them brings pain

No other can without distress remain

You who for others’ torment do not care

Cannot the name of ‘human’ rightly bear.

Her pain touches us all. You are the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and are the leader of the Revolutionary Guards who have imprisoned Nazanin. While you are Nazanin’s lock, you are also her key.

Nowruz is a time of renewal of nature and falls on March 21, 2019. I beseech you to grant Nazanin her freedom this Nowruz so that she can regain her rightful place at the centre of her family and celebrate her freedom in the comfort and embrace of her daughter and husband at this auspicious time and also at a time when her fertility is still in full bloom.

My previous correspondence to you went unanswered. I pray that this letter finds favour with you.

May God and his emissary, the Prophet Muhammad, keep the Iranian nation safe and bless you and your steps of wisdom in the many years to come.