Explained | Who is Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, imprisoned in Iran for six years?

The story to this point: On March 17, the UK’s Overseas Secretary, Liz Truss, introduced that British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe had lastly returned to the nation, after virtually six years of detention in Iran. Ms. Truss additionally introduced that two different residents — Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz had been launched by the Iranian authorities. Nonetheless, just one — Mr. Ashoori — may return to the UK. 

Who’s Nazanin Ratcliffe?

Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, 43, is a twin citizen of Iran and the UK. Born within the Iranian capital Tehran, she studied English literature and went on to grow to be an English trainer.

In 2003, the large earthquake in Iran prompted her flip towards aid-work. She joined the Japanese Worldwide Cooperation Company as a reduction employee. Later, she labored with the Worldwide Federation of Purple Cross, the Purple Crescent Societies, and the World Well being Group, the place she assumed the place of a communications officer.

In 2007, she moved to the UK on a scholarship on the London Metropolitan College to review communications administration. She married Richard Ratcliffe in 2009.

In 2011, she began working with the Thomson Reuters Basis (THF), an organisation advocating for human rights and freedom of speech and expression, first as a challenge employee after which a challenge supervisor. Previous to becoming a member of THF, she additionally labored with BBC Media Motion, a global improvement charity.

In 2014, her daughter Gabriella was born, after which Ms. Ratcliffe would go to her household in Iran extra typically — twice a yr, as per her husband, Mr. Ratcliffe.

Why was she arrested? 

In March 2016, Ms. Ratcliffe had flown to Iran together with her daughter Gabriella, who was virtually two years outdated on the time, to have fun the Iranian New 12 months together with her household. In April, when she was on the Imam Khomeini Airport to return to the UK, members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard arrested her, saying that she was behind a “foreign-linked hostile community”.

Each THF and BBC Media Motion mentioned that she was on a vacation in Iran and never working during her go to.

She was subsequently subjected to 2 months of rigorous interrogation and in September 2016 sentenced to 5 years in jail by the Iran Revolutionary Courtroom, which accused her of plotting to overthrow the Iranian authorities.

Nonetheless, the official expenses and proof towards her had been by no means made public. She has at all times denied the fees towards her. Her daughter Gabriella, who was residing together with her grandparents in Tehran after Ms. Ratcliffe’s arrest, was returned to her father within the UK in 2019.

The help-worker spent 4 years of her sentence on the Evin jail in Tehran. Of this, the primary 9 months had been spent in solitary confinement, in accordance with The Guardian. Her household had alleged that she was subjected to psychological and bodily torture in jail. The final yr of her sentence was spent in home arrest in her dad and mom’ house in Iran, as prisoners had been launched on parole owing to the Coronavirus pandemic.

As her sentence expired in 2021, in April of the identical yr she was charged with spreading “propaganda” towards the Iranian authorities, sentenced to a different yr in jail and handed a one-year journey ban by the court docket. Her lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, had mentioned that Ms. Ratcliffe was charged for taking part in an illustration in London outdoors the Iranian embassy 12 years in the past, other than giving an interview to the BBC Persian service.

British Human Rights organisation Amnesty Worldwide had known as her trial “grossly unfair” and her imprisonment unjust and arbitrary. Throughout her time in jail, Ms. Radcliffe went on two starvation strikes in 2019. She first began a three-day strike for being denied important medical therapy after which undertook a 15-day starvation strike for her unconditional launch.

Two British administrations, by means of their respective phrases, made diplomatic efforts at bringing her again to the nation. The British Embassy couldn’t characterize her in court docket, as Iran doesn’t recognise twin citizenship. In 2018, former Overseas Secretary of the UK, Jeremy Hunt had mentioned after a gathering along with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, that it was “not acceptable to detain harmless individuals arbitrarily at the price of monumental human anguish”. The then Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa Might, had met Iranian president Hassan Rouhani for talks on the United Nations in 2018, and conveyed “severe issues” about Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment, calling for her launch.

Ms. Ratcliffe’s detention had additionally grow to be a overseas coverage challenge for the present Boris Johnson administration, which was criticised for impeding the progress of the discharge efforts. Earlier than changing into the Prime Minister, when Mr. Johnson was serving because the British Overseas Secretary, and he had mentioned in a 2017 assertion condemning Ms. Ratcliffe’s imprisonment that she was “merely educating individuals journalism” in Iran. This assertion, regardless of being retracted by him later, was used as proof within the Iranian court docket that she was participating in propaganda actions.

How is the UK’s £400 million debt to Iran linked to the incident?

Ms. Ratcliffe’s household, particularly her husband, often mentioned throughout her imprisonment that she was getting used as a “political pawn”, alleging that she was being held in Tehran as a result of the British authorities had not repaid an age-old £400 million defence debt to the Iranian authorities.

Within the Nineteen Seventies, earlier than the Iranian revolution, the Shah of Iran, who was an ally of the UK, had ordered 1,500 Chieftain tanks and over 200 armoured automobiles, making an upfront cost to the UK. Nonetheless, solely a fraction of the defence tools was delivered to Iran earlier than the Shah was ousted, and the remaining principal quantity was not repaid by the British.

In accordance with Mr. Ratcliffe, his spouse had been advised by the captors that her arrest was linked to the UK not paying again the debt.

Whereas each Iranian and British governments denied that the 2 occasions had been linked, former British Overseas Secretary Mr. Hunt had mentioned in 2021 that Iran was linking the debt to Ms. Ratcliffe’s case.

“I feel they [Iran] are attempting to make use of this as leverage to settle the historic debt for the Chieftain tanks and that is what they need settled. We clearly reject any linkage as a result of we do not need to encourage hostage diplomacy and we need to observe the authorized processes,’ he had mentioned.

Political observers say the linkage was additional strengthened owing to a press release made by the present Foriegn Secretary of the UK, Liz Truss, on the time of Ms. Ratcliffe’s launch.

By the way, on March 16, the day of the aid-worker’s launch, Ms. Truss had introduced that after “extremely advanced” negotiations, the UK had discovered a method to clear the £393.8 million debt with Iran, with current sanctions towards Iran, anti-terror financing guidelines and anti-money laundering guidelines in place. She added that Iran would solely be allowed to make use of the funds for humanitarian work.

Who’re Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz? 

Concurrently with Ms. Ratcliffe, two different residents had been additionally launched by Iranian authorities.

Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, a British-Iranian businessman, who had earned his instructional {qualifications} and expanded his enterprise within the UK, lived in Iran between 1982 and 2005.

In 2017, when he travelled to Iran to satisfy his mom, he was arrested by the authorities and in 2019, sentenced to 12 years in jail. Of this, 10 years had been prescribed for expenses of “spying for Israel’s Mossad” and two years for “buying illegitimate wealth”. Mr. Ashoori too, has at all times denied the accusations towards him.

Mr. Ashoori additionally went on a starvation strike within the Evin Jail in Tehran for 17 days. In 2020, his spouse, Sherry Izadi had mentioned that he had tried suicide twice in jail. Amnesty Worldwide UK has alleged that he was tortured and illegally made to signal confessions.

Mr. Ashoori was launched on March 16 and reached the UK together with Ms. Ratcliffe.

A 3rd prisoner, British-Iranian-American citizen Morad Tahbaz was additionally launched from jail concurrently, however couldn’t come again to the UK as Iran intends to carry separate negotiations with America on account of his US citizenship.

Mr. Tahbaz, a businessman and conservationist, had co-founded the wildlife conservation group Persian Wildlife Heritage Basis (PWHF). In 2018, he was arrested in Iran and accused of spying, after he and his group had been “monitoring” endangered species utilizing cameras. The group was researching endangered animals such because the Asiatic cheetah in Iran.

Tehran mentioned that Mr. Tahbaz and his group had been gathering categorized data below the guise of scientific and environmental tasks. In late 2019, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for having “contacts with the US enemy authorities”.

Amnesty Worldwide has described him as a “prisoner of conscience” and mentioned that there was proof that he was tortured in confinement.