Family issues new appeal as British mother marks 100 days in Iranian prison

The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been held in solitary confinement in Iran for three months delievered a letter to No 10 begging for the Government to intervene.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, and her three-year-old daughter Gabriella are currently trapped in Iran after she was arrested by members of the Revolutionary Guard (IRG) at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran in April as she was preparing to fly home to London.

Over the weekend, her family marked the 100th day she had been held without charge at a secret location, while her daughter was being cared for by her parents as her passport has been seized.

The Iranian authorities have now said she has been charged with unknown offences.

Richard Ratcliffe renewed his call for more “political noise” from the UK Government to free her.

He said he found it “astonishing” that no British minister has publicly criticised Tehran for arresting one of their citizens.

Speaking outside No 10, Mr Ratcliffe said consular staff in Iran and at the Foreign Office had been working on her case.

But he added: “There has been no public criticism by any British minister of this situation.

“This is a British baby and a British mother being held hostage, effectively, and I think that is astonishing.

“I think more political noise is needed because it doesn't feel we have too much traction just yet.”

Mr Ratcliffe claimed his wife was being used as a “bargaining chip” but the IRG would release her if they could reach a deal with Tehran's political leaders.

He added: “She is a political prisoner in Iranian politics between hardliners and those who are trying to embarrass their own government, and is clearly being used as a pawn in international relations.”

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation – the charitable arm of the news agency – and has never been involved in political activism in the country.

The IRG had previously claimed she had participated in the “design and implementation of cyber and media projects to cause the soft toppling of the Islamic Republic”.

On Monday, Iran’s semi-official ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported that three dual nationals had been charged with unknown offences.

It quoted Tehran’s prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, who said retired Iranian-Canadian university professor Homa Hoodfar and Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi – whose father is also being held – are the other dual nationals charged.

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese man with US permanent resident status, has also been charged.

All four were arrested in connection with separate cases in the past year. All four’s families said they have done nothing wrong.

Those detained typically face trial in Iran's Revolutionary Court, a closed-door tribunal which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.

Additional reporting by agencies