West Hampstead mum Nazanin has finally seen a specialist for her back and neck, who said that without urgent treatment she could run the risk of permanent impairment

Nazanin was taken to Iranmehr Hospital in Tehran to see a specialist neurologist, although she is now back in prison.

The doctor expressed concerns about Nazanin’s neck and shoulder, as well as the nerves in her right arm and hand, and said she should be admitted to hospital immediately, or she could be left with a permanent injury.

Richard spoke to his 38-year-old wife for the first time in a month on Saturday.

He said: “She cried for the entire call. Nazanin’s fragile health this weekend has been a reminder that we must continue to campaign, that we cannot allow many more months of this to pass.”

“I am grateful that Nazanin has now been seen by a specialist, and that her health concerns can be addressed as soon as possible.

“I hope that his concerns are acted upon by the Iranian authorities – and that she does indeed not suffer any permanent physical damage from this ordeal. The psychological is already more than enough.”

Nazanin is suffering increasingly from severe insomnia at night and she has described being unable to sleep due to sudden panics and a feeling of inescapable pressure.

She told the hospital specialist about her months of poor sleeping conditions – on a stone floor with a blanket, and many months of poor food and no exercise, as well as the extreme psychological pressures – of being denied access to her young daughter, in addition to the trauma of interrogations and threats to her family.

Richard believes that these conditions have exacerbated his wife’s previous condition before she was jailed.

A few months after Gabriella was born, Nazanin needed extensive physiotherapy on her neck and shoulder in the UK.

Many years ago in Iran, Nazanin had an operation on her neck.

As previously reported, Nazanin, who has dual Iranian and British nationality, was arrested with her two-year-old daughter Gabriella at Tehran airport on April 3.

Gabriella’s passport was confiscated and she has been staying with her Iranian grandparents.

Nazanin, who previously worked as a media charity worker with Thomson Reuters, had her appeal rejected last month.

Richard said: “It is clear that the move to the general cells is much better – I am thankful for the support offered to her by her fellow cell mates, for the additional visits Gabriella now has to see her mum, and for the increased medical attention Nazanin receives.

“However, it also means we have a greater awareness of just what Nazanin is going through, and of the price she is continuing to pay the longer this is unresolved.”

Nazanin’s family are keeping the British Embassy in Iran updated with her medical situation.