Iran preparing fresh charge against jailed British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, husband claims

Telegraph Reporters
Updated
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, right, with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella - PA
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, right, with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella - PA

A British mother jailed in Iran on spying claims faces being sent back to court on a fresh charge, her husband said last night.

Richard Ratcliffe fears Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in 2016 while on holiday with her daughter Gabriella, could be taken back to court "within a week or so" on a resurrected charge of spreading propaganda against the regime.

Mr Ratcliffe believes a case is being opened against her as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson prepares to meet his French and German counterparts and EU high representative Federica Mogherini for talks on Iran in Brussels.

It comes after members of her family visited prosecutors for an update on her case, according to Mr Ratcliffe, who says she is being used as a "bargaining chip".

He said she told him of the development in a 5.30am phone call on May 14, and added: "I have no clue why they have started all this nonsense again. They know Boris is coming.

Richard Ratcliffe says he has "no clue why they have started all this nonsense again" - Credit: John Stillwell/PA
Richard Ratcliffe says he has "no clue why they have started all this nonsense again" Credit: John Stillwell/PA

"Please take me out of this, please. My parents have had enough. I want my daughter back. She needs both of us. So tell the world. Enough of this nonsense."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

The 39-year-old mother, from Hampstead, north London, is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is preparing to meet his French and German counterparts and EU high representative Federica Mogherini for talks on Iran - Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/PA
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is preparing to meet his French and German counterparts and EU high representative Federica Mogherini for talks on Iran Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/PA

She said in a statement released through the campaign to free her: "Sometimes when I come back from the visit with Gabriella, after saying goodbye to her, I feel like I cannot live without her, I want to go back and hold her."

Mr Ratcliffe said: "The UK needs to do better by British Iranians - at the moment it is failing to protect them.

"UK policy is not making it safe for British citizens. Iranian policy is not making it safe for Iranian citizens."

He urged Mr Johnson to have "Nazanin and the cases of all the other British citizens taken at the top of his priority list" during his meetings in Brussels.