Theresa May 'extremely concerned' for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as she is moved to mental health ward
There are fears that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being mistreated after she is denied contact with her family.
Wednesday 17 July 2019 14:45, UK
Theresa May has said she is "extremely concerned" about the welfare of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran after she was moved to a mental health ward.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in Tehran in 2016 and sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of spying. She vehemently denies the charge.
The prime minister's spokesman said: "We are extremely concerned about Nazanin's welfare and call for her immediate release, and we urge Iran to allow family members to visit her and check on her care."
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was moved to the hospital ward in Tehran on Monday, where she is under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Her father says she has not been allowed to speak with her family and he has not been allowed to visit her.
Richard Ratcliffe, her husband, told Sky News: "It's now been 48 hours since we've had contact with her and as times gone on that's got more ominous."
He added: "The longer she's left isolated, particularly in the control of the Revolutionary Guard whose job it is to be tough not get involved in medical care, the more ominous it gets."
The Free Nazanin Campaign said this was unusual and, while her original referral was for at least a month, it is not known how long she will be in the psychiatric ward or the treatment she might get.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe last spoke with her family on Monday and said: "I was healthy and happy when I came to Iran to see my parents.
"Three and a bit years later and I am admitted to a mental health clinic.
"Look at me now, I ended up in an asylum. It should be an embarrassment.
"Prison is getting harder and harder for me. I hate being played in the middle of a political game. I just hate it."
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe went on hunger strike for 15 days last month in protest at her "unfair imprisonment".
Her husband also went on hunger strike in solidarity, camping outside the Iranian embassy in London.
Mr Ratcliffe said: "Nazanin hoped that her hunger strike would move the Iranian authorities, and it clearly has.
"Hopefully her transfer to hospital means that she is getting treatment and care, despite my distrust of just what pressures can happen behind closed doors. It is unnerving when we don't know what is going on."
"I am glad her dad has been down there to keep vigil outside.
"Mental hospital has its worries at the best of times - but particularly when kept isolated and under the control of the Revolutionary Guard.
"Even now it still seems like games of power and control are being played by the Iranian authorities - even at the point of hospitalisation.
"We hope again this is the beginning of the end. And yet, we were also here last summer."
The couple's five-year-old daughter Gabriella has stayed in Iran with her grandparents since her mother's arrest.
With Britain set to have a new prime minister in ten days, Mr Ratcliffe told Sky News: "We are looking at whoever the prime minister is to take personal responsibility to solve the case - for Nazanin and the others who are being held."
Prior to his wife's move to the hospital, Mr Ratcliffe said he met with candidate Jeremy Hunt, who is currently foreign secretary, to discuss some of the specifics of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case.
Ellie Kennedy, Amnesty International UK's individuals at risk campaigner, said: "The fact that this has been done without her family's involvement suggests the real motive may be more to do with exerting pressure on Britain, rather than providing Nazanin with treatment.
"We know from other cases, that the Iranian prison authorities will sometimes use a range of pressuring techniques with prisoners, often designed to coerce false confessions or sometimes simply to punish them further.
"And sometimes using prisoners as pawns in political battles.
"After all she and her family have been through, the time really has come for the Tehran authorities to bring this to an end, to release her and let her travel back to the UK with her daughter Gabriella."
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the government is "extremely concerned" by the situation, adding: "We are in regular contact with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband and our Embassy in Tehran has consistently requested consular access.
"We urge Iran to allow family members to visit and check on her care as a matter of urgency. We will continue to call for her release at the highest levels."