UK accused of delaying effort to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in 2016 when visiting Iran with her daughter. AFP / Free Nazanin campaign

Lawyers for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British woman jailed in Iran, have accused the British government of delaying steps that could secure her early release.

In a letter to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyers accused the government of not acting because they feared upsetting Washington.

The seven-page letter said London had deliberately delayed steps to earn the release, including the payment of £400m (Dh1.9 billion) which Tehran says it is owed by Britain.

It's completely outrageous to be holding people and using them as collateral

“The UK Government is apparently waiting for implicit permission from the US Government to pay the UK’s legally owed debts, payment of which would allow Nazanin (and other innocent British nationals) finally to come home,” it read.

“The message appears to be that the safety of British citizens abroad is subordinate to falling in line with US policy.”

The BBC's Panorama programme broadcast similar allegations on Monday, and on Tuesday The Guardian reported the new legal effort.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained since April 2016 when she travelled with her young daughter to visit her Iranian parents.

She was jailed for five years after being accused of unspecified espionage offences.

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  Iranian women inmates sit in their cell at Evin jail, north of Tehran. AFP/file

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  Tehran's Evin prison holds domestic and international inmates. AFP/file

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  An Iranian inmate peers from behind a wall as a guard walks by. AFP/file

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  A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison. Reuters/file

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  The Evin prison workshop in Tehran in 1989. AP/file

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  Iranian prisoners work in a kitchen at Evin prison in 2006. AP/file

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  Evin prison was built in 1972 and has thousands of inmates. Reuters/file

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  A female prison guard stands on duty in Tehran's Evin prison. File

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  A female prisoner makes a call in a corridor in the Evin prison. AP/file

Her family and supporters say she is a pawn in a political game between London and Tehran.

The British Government has previously admitted it owes Iran for a pre-1979 arms deal.

“It is important that the UK both honours its legally owed obligations to Iran, but also calls out the Iranian Government on its illegal treatment of Nazanin under Iranian law,” the letter reads.

“However, the UK Government has done precisely the opposite: obtusely refusing to discharge its legal obligations, while remaining silent and appeasing Iran in the face of Tehran’s atrocious abuse of Nazanin’s human rights.”

Richard Ratcliffe, who is Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband and has for years campaigned for her release, was also asked about any link between his wife's detention and the outstanding debt.

"Well of course there should be no link," he said. "It's completely outrageous to be holding people and using them as collateral."

Mr Ratcliffe also said on Monday that he feared she could face a second trial when her sentence ends early next year.

"I think, behind closed doors, they keep saying there's a second court case, they keep talking about running it," he told ITV. "My fear is that's what happens."

In a statement the Ministry of Defence said: “The defence secretary’s position on this matter has not changed. As previous government statements have made clear, we remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of all arbitrarily detained dual British nationals in Iran and regularly lobby for their release at the highest levels.”