It is sickening to see Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being used so shamelessly as a political pawn.

Dangling the possibility of freedom (or, for that matter, medical care) in front of her only to take it away hours later appears to have become business as usual for Iran.

Recall the delays releasing her for furlough; the fact she was recalled after three days with her daughter; the treatment she was promised after ending her hunger strike only to be left waiting months for it.

The fact she needed an immediate hospital referral after this latest chicanery is further evidence of the cruelty to which she is being subjected; so is the fact her referral to hospital was not acted upon; so is the fact she has yet to receive the results of breast screening she was finally given nearly a fortnight ago after being promised it in January.

Nazanin should not be in prison at all: it is clear now that Iran does not actually believe she is guilty of any crime, merely that she is politically useful.

The men and women in charge of Nazanin’s fate have families and communities of their own. How would they feel if their own mother or wife or daughter were treated this way?