nazanin zaghari Archives - Iran News Daily

Nazanin Zaghari released

reporter 1222 — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 13:30:28 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Nazanin Zaghari released. For the past year, she was wearing an ankle bracelet to locate her around her father’s house. On Sunday, the ankle bracelet was removed.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a convict being held in Iranian prisons for security offenses.

Iranian Intelligence authorities arrested Zaghari at the Imam Khomeini International Airport on April 3, 2016, on her way to London where she has been residing after visiting her parents in Tehran.

The 39-year-old was arrested after it became clear that she had run an illegal course to recruit and train people for the Persian service of the BBC, which is a major party to the “soft war” being waged by the West against Tehran, according to Iranian officials.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had initially been sentenced to five years in jail on charges relating to national security, but authorities later opened her case and tried her on additional charges based on new evidence including a BBC paycheck and contents of her personal email.

She has another open case and the first court session on it will be held on Sunday, March 14.

Her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told the Iranian website Emtedad on Sunday that her five-year prison sentence for plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment was complete.

“She was pardoned by Iran’s supreme leader last year but spent the last year of her term under house arrest with electronic shackles tied to her feet. Now they’re cast off,” Kermani told the website. “She has been freed.”

Iran’s judiciary officials have yet to comment on the release.

In practice, the news means she has been released from the ankle tag that keeps her within 300 meters of her parents’ home, but since she is facing a set of charges this Sunday she is unlikely to be given back her passport, which she would need to return to the UK.

The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said: “We welcome the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle tag, but Iran’s continued treatment of her is intolerable. She must be allowed to return to the UK as soon as possible to be reunited with her family.”

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Iran Denies UK Debt, Zaghari Link

reporter 1222 — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 07:55:20 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected reports that have drawn a link between the debt the UK owes to Tehran from the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks ordered decades ago and possible release of Nazanin Zaghari, a dual Iranian-British citizen jailed for espionage.

In an interview with IRIB, Saeed Khatibzadeh reacted to the reports that the British officials have acknowledged efforts to pay a debt to the Iranian government, deploring attempts to link such acknowledgment to a possible release of British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is serving prison term in Iran after being convicted of espionage.

He said the UK government is definitely in debt to Iran for the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks ordered more than 40 years ago “no matter whether a UK government official acknowledges the debt or not.”

Ms. Zaghari has served part of her sentence in Iran and has been even released on parole, the spokesman said, noting that her case has gone through ordinary judicial procedures and is not any different from other inmates.

His comments came after UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace for the first time acknowledged that he is actively seeking to pay a debt to the Iranian government that may finally help to secure the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The UK is thought to owe as much as £400m to the Iranian government arising from the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks ordered by the former regime of Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An international arbitration in 2008 ruled the UK owed the debt, but in subsequent protracted court battles, lawyers acting for International Military Services, the UK Ministry of Defense’s now-defunct arms sales agency, have questioned not only the debt’s size, but at times whether any debt was payable.

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London lacks goodwill in recent move to grant “diplomatic protection” to Zaghari

reporter 1222 — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 13:01:11 +0000

At present, the relevant sections are reviewing the legal and political aspects of this note and will respond as appropriate, he added.

This move by the UK Government does not in itself create any new legal status either internally or internationally, but merely reflects a political decision by the government of the United Kingdom, which is contrary to even its explicit legal positions in international communities, Ghasemi noted.

He argued that “what is certain is that, firstly, the British government lacks goodwill regarding the move, and secondly, the move is not considered constructive or positive in any way, and if it does not complicate the situation, it will certainly not simplify that.”

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced on Friday that London had decided to give Zaghari diplomatic protection “as part of the Government’s continuing efforts to secure her release.”

“Affording diplomatic protection in Nazanin’s case represents formal recognition by the British Government that her treatment fails to meet Iran’s obligations under International law and elevates it to a formal State to State issue,” a statement by the UK Foreign Office said.

“I have today decided that the UK will take a step that is extremely unusual and exercise diplomatic protection,” Hunt said in a video message.

In reaction to Hunt’s statement, Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad said the UK government’s extension of diplomatic protection to Zaghari contravenes international law.

“Govts may only exercise such protection for own nationals. As UK Govt is acutely aware, Iran does not recognize dual nationality. Irrespective of UK residency, Ms Zaghari thus remains Iranian,” he said in a Friday tweet.

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Nazanin Zaghari serving sentence, no talk of release

reporter 1222 — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 05:42:35 +0000

Tehran’s judiciary chief said that Nazani Zagahri is serving her sentence and there is no talk of her release.

Tehran’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhosein Esmaili discussed the latest conditions of Nazani Zagahri’s case and said “Nazanin Zaghari is at present serving her prison sentence handed down by the court and there is no talk of her release.”

“Apart from the sentence she is serving now, there is another court case against her which is going through legal proceedings,” Tehran’s Judiciary Chief said.

Referring to Zagahri’s other case, Esmaili said “the said case is now open at court and judges are investigating it. No time for a hearing has been determined yet.”

Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw claimed that in his recent trip to Iran to attend the Second Tehran Security Conference, he negotiated with Iranian officials concerning the release of Nazanin Zaghari.

Stating that negotiations in this regard were friendly, Jack Straw said “we offered strong reasons for the necessity of releasing Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and another prisoner based on humanitarian concerns.” He claimed that Iranian officials have told him they are taking this option into consideration.

The Spokesperson of Judiciary Branch Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei had previously stressed that the British delegation has had no talks with the Judiciary officials in this regard and added “any decision regarding the release of the prisoners is upon the Judiciary Branch.”

He discussed the conditions for release of the said prisoners, saying that if a prisoner sentenced to ten years of imprisonment has served half of his or her sentence and has special conditions, he or she can be released on parole. If the sentence is less than 10 years and the prisoner has served a third of her sentence, she can be released on parole.

Nazanin Zaghari, an Iranian-British dual citizen was arrested in Imam Khomeini International Airport by IRGC forces and has been detained in Iran since 3 April, 2016. Ms. Zaghari was condemned of actively participating in social networks related to espionage activities and also plots to overthrow the Establishment. Ms. Zaghari was also convicted of leading a network of spies which received support from foreign intelligence services and media. She taught online courses to reporters in BBC Persian and had traveled to Iran with the intention of recruiting people and training them to engage in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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No talks with judiciary branch on Nazanin Zaghari

reporter 1222 — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 06:25:31 +0000

The Spokesperson of Judiciary Branch, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, says that while they consider the case of Nazanin Zaghari the same as other cases but the Foreign Minister Zarif has not met with the judiciary chief on this issue yet.

“The British delegation held no negotiation with the judiciary branch and the judiciary system has not made a decision on it. However, legally the issue is just relevant to the judiciary branch,” said Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

The Iranian official made the remarks at his weekly presser in Tehran after questioned by Mehr News reporter who asked, “recently a British delegation visited Tehran with the agenda of negotiating the fate of some prisoners convicted for espionage. After the UK delegation left Tehran, government officials said that the issue is up to judiciary officials and the government just asks for some humanitarian concerns. Now the question is what the judiciary branch will do in regards to swapping these prisoners like Nazanin Zaghari, Foroughi, and the similar cases.”

The Iranian official noted that if the requirements to benefit from conditional release of these prisoners are met, they will be freed. “According to the article 58 of Islamic penal code, it has been devised that those sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, half of their sentence has been served, and they are in an extraordinary situation, they can take advantage of conditional release,” he noted.

“Those who are sentenced to less than 10 years and have at least served one-third of their sentence, if they are in an extraordinary situation, they can use the conditional release law,” added Mr. Ejei.

When Mr. Ejei was asked if Foreign Minister Zarif had requested a meeting with the judiciary chief, he said that he has heard nothing on such request. “These two prisoners are like other prisoners. However Zaghari is having two trials and she has been definitely convicted for one of them. So far we have made no decision,” recounted the spokesperson of judiciary branch.

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Iran dismisses reports of releasing Zaghari through swap deal

reporter 1222 — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 06:30:22 +0000

TEHRAN – Gholam Hossein Esmaili, head of Tehran province’s Justice Department, on Friday dismissed reports on releasing Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman, in a swap deal.

“Besides serving her current sentence, she has also another ongoing case against her in court… We do not know if she would be found guilty or not,” Reuters quoted Esmaili as saying.

“Iran’s Judiciary cannot confirm any of the claims in Western media about this case. When a decision is made, it will be announced by the Islamic Republic’s Judiciary or through diplomatic channels,” he said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, has been imprisoned in Iran for 20 months for charges that include trying to orchestrate a soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard Ratcliffe told the Guardian newspaper and other British media on Thursday that her lawyer had said that her case had been marked as being eligible for early release.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was under fire for saying last month that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran “training journalists”. In his Tehran visit earlier in December, he was expected to pursue the case of Zaghari and consular cases of other dual nationals.

Iran, however, says it does not recognize dual nationals and considers dual citizens as Iranian citizens only.

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MFA to pursue Nazanin Zaghari’s case

reporter 1222 — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 08:34:37 +0000

Iran’s FM Spokesman Ghasemi said Mon. that the Foreign Ministry will follow up for humanitarian reasons on the case of Nazanin Zaghari who is in detention on charges of espionage against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi discussed the case of Nazanin Zaghari during his weekly press conference on Monday, which was once again brought into the focus of media after the visit of UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to Tehran.

One of the objectives of Johnson’s two-day visit to Tehran was most likely to discuss Zaghari’s case with Iranian officials, he added.

Zaghari was arrested by Iran’s intelligence forces at the Imam Khomeini International Airport in April 2016 on spying charges as she was on her way home to London after visiting her parents in Tehran. She was subsequently tried in an Iranian court and sentenced to five years in prison for spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Ghasemi went on to add, “[Johnson’s] visit was planned in advance and took place at the official request of Foreign Minister Zarif, aimed at discussing a wide plethora of bilateral and regional topics.”

Ghasemi maintained that one such topic raised at the meetings was Zaghari’s case, adding “given the fact that she is convicted, she is currently serving her time in prison, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry has declared that it would follow up on her case due to humanitarian reasons. However, her case must be pursued by the Judiciary given the separate branches of power in Iran.”

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Iran rejects claims on extention of Nazanin Zaghari’s term in prison

reporter 1222 — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 06:37:05 +0000

London, Oct 10, A source from Iran Embassy in London dismissed claims made by Richard Ratcliff that her wife’s sentence could be extend to 16 years by Tehran.

Speaking to IRNA, the unnamed source added that it is not the first time Mr. Ratcliff tries to intrigue public opinion and make propaganda based on false information.

He went on to say, “The truth is Mrs. Zaghari has attended a court hearing and based on new information made available to the judge, she has been charged for her illegal acts. “

The source said that the issues raised in the court are charges, which have to pass legal proceedings and be proven.

It is clear that Mrs. Zaghari is, like before, entitled to her legal rights including having a lawyer as well as legal procedures for issuing a verdict and in that case, she enjoys the right to appeal.

The sources stressed that the claims made by Mrs. Zaghari’s husband (Mr. Ratcliff) regarding her new charges are “just speculations” which do not correspond to the charges made against her.

He reiterated that Mrs. Zaghari’s condition in prison has not changed and she can visit her family as well as her daughter twice a week.

“She also has access to all medical facilities”, the source reaffirmed.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in Kerman in April 2016 with charges relating to national security; she has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Reporter: Hadi Naderi, IRNA correspondent to the UK

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