Theresa May to press Iran to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

British prime minister will demand that Hasan Rouhani releases the dual national woman arrested in April 2016

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Iranian president Hassan Rouhani in New York on Tuesday, where she will press him to release a British-Iranian women imprisoned in Tehran, a senior government official told reporters.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation – the media organisation's philanthropic arm – was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016.

She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition, which she denies.

During a meeting with Mr Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, "you can expect the prime minister to raise our ongoing consular cases, including that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe", the official said.

_______________

Read more:

UK warns dual nationals against visiting Iran

Briton jailed in Iran talked out of hunger strike

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe collapses in prison for second day in a row

_______________

"The prime minister will express serious concern about Ms Nazanin's ongoing detention and call for her to be released upon humanitarian grounds."

On Wednesday, Mrs May will hold one-on-one talks with US president Donald Trump, focusing on her hopes of agreeing a trade deal after Britain leaves the European Union.

"They both have a strong commitment to securing a strong UK-US free trade agreement when we've left," the official said.

The pair will also discuss the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter earlier this year in the English city of Salisbury, which London and its allies – including Washington – blamed on Moscow.

Russia has strongly denied the accusation.

Updated: September 25, 2018, 4:53 AM