Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case to be raised as Middle East minister visits Iran
The imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is set to be discussed as Middle East minister Alistair Burt holds talks in Iran on Saturday.
Mr Burt intends to raise the high profile case as he meets Iranian deputy foreign affairs minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for spying in 2016 but maintains her innocence, saying she was on holiday to introduce her daughter to her family in Iran.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has promised to heighten efforts aimed at securing the British-Iranian’s release after she passed out during a panic attack and had to be taken to a prison clinic earlier this week.
All our thoughts and prayers with Nazanin and her family today. Unbearable suffering to be apart from daughter with her hopes raised then dashed. We must redouble efforts to find a way to get her home #FreeNazanin
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 29, 2018
Mr Burt is using his visit to discuss the cases of British dual-nationals detained in Iran as well as holding talks on the Iran nuclear deal and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Burt said: “I will also use the opportunity of my visit to push for the resolution we all want to see in the cases of the British dual nationals detained in Iran.”
Mr Burt has stated the talks marked a “crucial moment in Iran’s relationship with the UK” around the nuclear deal.
His visit is the first by a UK minister to Tehran since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May.
