Nazanin loses appeal against serving extra year in prison
AN IRANIAN appeals court has upheld a verdict sentencing an Iranian-British woman long held in Tehran to another year in prison, her lawyer said yesterday.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already served a five-year prison sentence in the Islamic Republic. Hojjat Kermani, her lawyer, said that the appeals court upheld a verdict issued earlier this year sentencing her to another year.
The verdict additionally includes a one-year travel ban abroad, meaning she cannot leave Iran to join her family for nearly two years.
In April, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced for allegedly spreading “propaganda against the system” when she participated in a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in London in 2009.
Mr Kermani said Mrs ZaghariRatcliffe was “concerned” when he informed her about the appeals court decision. He said his client was in touch with her family.
State media in Iran did not immediately acknowledge the ruling, which was apparently issued after a closeddoor hearing.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of plotting the overthrow of Iran’s government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny.
While employed at the Thomson
Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, she was taken into custody at the Tehran airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family.
Rights groups accuse Iran of holding dual nationals as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West, something Tehran denies.
Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, last night condemned the decision. “Iran’s decision to proceed with these baseless charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through,” she said. “Instead of threatening to return Nazanin to prison, Iran must release her permanently so she can return home.”