British citizens imprisoned in Iran on hunger strike
#FreeNazanin
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen, has started her third hunger strike on Saturday 15 June 2019 demanding her unconditional release from prison in Iran. Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin, in solidarity with his wife has also begun a hunger strike outside the Islamic regime’s embassy in London. Richard’s demands are:
1. Nazanin’s immediate release.
2. An immediate visit to Nazanin by the British Embassy to check on her health
3. If no release is granted to Nazanin in the next few weeks, a visa should be granted for Richard to go to Iran.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was a charity worker who was arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic regime on 3rd April 2016 at an airport in Iran while returning to the UK from a family holiday in Iran. She was arrested for the bogus charge of ‘spying for British intelligence service’.
Gabriella, Nazanin’s two years old daughter, was separated from Nazanin at the airport while witnessing Nazanin being arrested. Gabriella has been banned from leaving Iran and therefore she cannot be with her father Richard in London. Gabriella’s passport was confiscated by the Iran Revolutionary Guard when her mother was arrested. Gabriella has been deprived of being with her parents for over three years. Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin’s husband, has been campaigning for Nazanin’s release since 2016 and has demanded that the British government should defend British citizens who are in prison in Iran.
This is not the first time that an Iranian-British citizen is being imprisoned by the Islamic regime in Iran on a fabricated charge of ‘spying for British intelligence’. The bogus charge of ‘spying’ could be used against any British citizen who travels to Iran. It is clear that the dual nationals are being held in prison as hostages and bargaining chip so the authorities in Iran could score points by using theses hostages in their negotiations with the British government. Therefore, we have to demand that Nazanin be released from prison, and to put an end to the imprisonment of all British citizens in Iran.
The Islamic regime in Iran does not care about the lives of the imprisoned British citizens. This is the same regime that has been arresting, torturing and executing thousands of men and women and youngsters who dared to practice their freedom of expression in the last 40 years in Iran. We demand British government to pressurise the authorities in Iran and demand Nazanin’s immediate and unconditional release from prison.
The Islamic regime in Iran does not care about any dual citizens’ lives and the devastating psychological impact on their families. Nazanin’s daughter, Gabriella, has been away from her parents for three years; one can imagine the psychological impact of this separation on her. Gabriella is a British citizen but her rights have not been protected and defended by the British government. The question is: what the British government has done to save her live and her wellbeing?
If the British government would have pressurised the regime in Iran, and would have used all its diplomatic tools from the beginning when Nazanin was arrested; if the British government would have prioritised Nazanin’s life over its own political and economic interest, perhaps Nazanin would have been release much earlier.
While people in the UK must pressurise the regime in Iran to release Nazanin, and other Iranian-British citizens, the British government should be held responsible to protect the rights and lives of its citizens. Unfortunately, the British government has been making empty promises to the families of the jailed Iranian-British citizens. The British government has kept repeating the same excuse that their hands are tight because the Islamic regime in Iran does not recognise dual nationality. Any sensible person could understand that the British government should act responsibly toward its citizens, instead of leaving them to rot in a prison in Iran.
Please write to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs-UK, Jeremy Hunt, write to your MP and urge them to take an immediate and effective action to bring Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her daughter back to the UK. Please also write to the regime in Iran and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nazanin.
We invite you to take an action by:
Writing to:
Your MPs and ask them to urge the government to take an action. You can find the contact detail for your MP via the link: www.writetothem.com
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs-UK
Jeremy Hunt huntj@parliament.uk Twitter: @Jeremy_Hunt
Hassan Rouhani Email: media@rouhani.ir Twitter: @HassanRouhani
Ali Khamenei Email: info_leader@leader.ir Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Supporting and signing the following petition :
I would like to ask you to demand the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and to support Nazanin’s husband, Richard, who has been campaigning for Nazanin.
Nazanin and her family need your support.
Shiva Mahbobi, Spokesperson
Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
+44(0) 7572356661
shiva.mahbobi@gmail.com