Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ordered to return to Tehran jail after three-day furlough
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe reunited with daughter Gabriella following her temporary release on Thursday. Picture: Free Nazanin Campaign - Credit: Archant
Jailed West Hampstead mum Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been ordered to return to her Iranian prison following a three-day release, her husband has said.
Nazanin was imprisoned in 2016 after being accused of spying while on holiday in Iran – something she denies.
Richard Ratcliffe, who has campaigned tirelessly for her release alongside groups such as Amnesty in the 28 months since, said his wife’s lawyer had been attempting to get her three-day release from Evin on furlough increased to a longer period on Sunday.
The British-Iranian mother was released from the Tehran jail on Thursday and has been staying with family outside the capital.
However, after a “day of mixed messages”, the request for an extension was not granted and she was told she must return by sunset, her husband said.
You may also want to watch:
Her four-year-old daughter, Gabriella, cried when she realised her mother was leaving.
Richard said: “Nazanin waited for Gabriella to wake up before saying goodbye, and left her family home to return to Evin prison.”
Most Read
- 1 All Camden care home residents given Covid jab
- 2 Crouch End's 'Paul the Paper' bids farewell to Broadway stall
- 3 Buyers claim luxury flats are 'nightmare' construction site
- 4 Camden residents offered symptom-free Covid testing
- 5 Mikel Arteta turns focus to new signings after Arsenal let fringe players leave
- 6 Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn relieved to see Mesut Ozil depart
- 7 Councillors slam 'outrageous' change of plans for 100 Avenue Road
- 8 Plans for council homes to replace Highgate car wash
- 9 Apology to Barnet mother for 'embarrassing' food parcel
- 10 Arsenal look to bounce back at home to West Ham
He added: “She promised Gabriella that the next time she saw her it would be forever not just for a few days – for proper freedom, not just for furlough.
“And next time they will go back to London to be with daddy.”
Gabriella has been staying with family since Nazanin – who works for a charity, the Thomson Reuters Foundation – was detained at Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday the temporary release was “extremely positive” and called on Iranian authorities to allow her to return to her family in the UK.
Additional reporting by Press Association