Daughter of detained British-Iranian charity worker starts first day of school

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe sent her daughter to the UK last year from Iran to begin her education

In this undated photo provided by the Free Nazanin Campaign, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran.  Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been allowed to leave an Iranian prison for three days, her husband said Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family. (Free Nazanin Campaign/via AP)
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Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe has started her first day at school in the UK but her mother, British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin, remains in jail in Tehran on espionage charges.

An image was shared on social media of a smiling Gabriella, 5, with a pink backpack reportedly made by her mother.

It comes amid fears that the US airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani could complicate efforts to free British citizens held in Iran’s prisons.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said his daughter’s first day at school presented her mother with a “different kind” of emotional challenge. He previously warned the death of Suleimani would make things “more difficult” for the families of people detained in Iran.

"I think it's more that as our lives move on and there's the excitement of that, she feels more the sense that she's never coming out. I think she notices the milestones in a way that she wasn't before Gabriella came home," he told the Daily Mail.

“She has missed her first day of school. It's a big one she's not there for ... she should've been the one brushing her hair, walking her to the school gates and meeting the other parents."

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in April 2016 on espionage charges, which she denies, after visiting her parents in Tehran while travelling home to the UK with Gabriella. The latter returned to the UK after three years living with her grandparents in Iran, after her mother said she wanted her to start school in London.

“Her mum has been robbed of steering her through this milestone, hugging her after school and hearing about all her new friends ... but Gabriella has an army now, all over the country, wishing her well on this adventure, and making sure her mum knows we’ll never give up our hope,” said comedian Shappi Khorsandi.

On Tuesday, the Labour Party's Tulip Siddiq asked UK defence minister Ben Wallace what the government was doing to secure the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

He responded that the government would do “everything it can” to get citizens released from Iranian prisons.

Mr Wallace had accused Iran of showing a “total disregard” for human rights.

He told Parliament Iran was “holding dual nationals in prison and causing unimaginable suffering, not just to those in jail, but to their families at home”.

“Such behaviour does nothing to enhance Iran’s reputation with its neighbours and has had a seriously destabilising impact in the region," he said.