Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to go on hunger strike over prison treatment in Iran
The British-Iranian from north London is protesting in her jail cell in Tehran over being denied聽access to medical care.
Thursday 3 January 2019 14:12, UK
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is planning to go on a hunger strike this month over her treatment in prison in Tehran.
The British-Iranian detainee is protesting over being denied access to a doctor and medication.
She is planning to carry out the strike alongside prominent human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who has been charged several times over her criticism of the Iranian government.
"We are urging for an immediate action to be taken," the two said in a joint letter.
The strike, due to start on 14 January, is set to last for three days but could go on for longer.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband has previously revealed that she has suffered several panic attacks in jail, which left her with numbness in her legs and headaches.
On Thursday, Richard Ratcliffe told the AFP news agency: "Nazanin is currently having medical treatment blocked for lumps in her breasts, for neurological care over her neck pains and numbness in her arms and legs, and seeing an outside psychiatrist has been banned."
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has previously threatened to take such action following her temporary release from her cell in the Iranian capital last summer.
A British-Iranian dual citizen from Hampstead, north London, she was arrested in Tehran in April 2016 over claims that she was "plotting to overthrow the Iranian regime".
She had been in Iran to visit her family for Nowruz, the Persian New Year festival, with her then 22-month-old daughter.
As they prepared to board a flight back to the UK at the Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was approached by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and arrested.
Press TV, the state-owned and controlled English and French language Iranian news channel, later claimed she was involved in "plans for regime change in Iran".
The mother-of-one, who turned 40 on Boxing Day, was convicted last year, despite her denials.