Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, will enter his third week of hunger strike on Saturday.
Mr Ratcliffe began his protest outside the Iranian embassy on June 15 in tandem with his wife, currently detained in Iran's notorious Evin prison. He has said he will not end his camp out and strike in front of the embassy until Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends hers.
On Friday the UK's foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said his "heart breaks" for the "brave" couple and he will "continue to fight with every fibre of my being to free Nazanin."
My heart breaks for this brave couple. Whether Foreign Sec, PM or backbencher, I will continue to fight with every fibre of my being to free Nazanin. She is INNOCENT and has a 5 yr old daughter who desperately needs to be with her mother. #FreeNazanin https://t.co/bwup3hlv7h
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 28, 2019
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 as she was leaving Iran after taking the couple's infant daughter to visit her family. She was sentenced to five years for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.
A project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the media group's philanthropic arm, she denies all charges.
Iran has so far resisted pressure to release Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, despite attempts by Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt to secure her freedom.
"Mrs Zaghari is an Iranian. She has been convicted on security charges and is spending her sentence in prison," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, was quoted as saying by the state media on Monday. "Iran does not recognise dual nationality."
Human rights group Amnesty International has arranged a singing event to mark two weeks of hunger strike by the couple.
Choral singers will gather outside the embassy to lead an open sing-a-long featuring renditions of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun, Bob Marley's Redemption Song and Nina Simone's I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.
Mr Ratcliffe has told the press he feels sluggish and slow, but is determined to keep up the protest. His sister, a doctor, and other family members have been monitoring his health.
"When it comes to an end I've been told that I just have to get him into a taxi and go straight to A&E," Mr Ratcliffe's mother Barbara told The Guardian.
“Of course, he knows that we are all absolutely terrified for him, but in other ways this has been different from what I had expected. The sheer amount of support and goodwill, particularly from Iranians, has been overwhelming.”
Supporters have covered the metal barriers erected by the embassy last week in brightly-coloured post-it notes with messages of hope and Iranians and Londoners alike have stopped by the wish him well.
He remains adamant that the continued spotlight on Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case will eventually make progress.
“With this level of attention, I’m sure that there will be difference.”
