David Ibsen, Executive Director of United Against a Nuclear Iran
(UANI), has strongly condemned the Islamic Republic’s decision to sentence
British-Iranian dual national Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe to a further year in prison, describing
Tehran’s decision “unconscionable, predictable and deeply
disappointing”.
This latest development comes just six weeks after
Zaghari-Ratcliffe finished serving a five year sentence, imposed
in 2016, for “plotting to topple the Iranian government”, risible
charges that are widely acknowledged as baseless by the
international community.
The latest charges brought against Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe are no
less contrived. Accused of ‘propaganda activities’ by the Iranian
state, her lawyer has confirmed that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was
tried on the basis of allegedly participating in a demonstration
outside the Iranian embassy in London 12 years ago and giving an
interview to the BBC Persian service.
Seasoned analysts agree that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment
is entirely motivated by the desire to use the former charity
worker as diplomatic leverage, both in the regime’s ongoing
nuclear treaty negotiations as well as a historic legal case with
the UK. Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is not the only foreign or dual
national being used for this purpose by the regime.
In addition to Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at least 4 German, 2
French, 2 British, 1 Swedish, 2 Austrian, as well as many other
non-European citizens are presently being held hostage by the
Iranian regime, all on the basis of spurious legal charges.
The 2015 nuclear treaty made no provision for those foreign and
dual nationals already being held prisoner by the regime. As
such, Tehran was neither compelled to release those existing
hostages nor was it prevented from persisting with its policy of
hostage diplomacy in the years since.
David Ibsen, President of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)
said: “UANI extends its sympathies to Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, and supports Richard
Ratcliffe’s continued work campaigning for her release. From the
first day of imprisonment Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been used as
a political pawn by the regime with absolutely no regard either
for her welfare or for the principle of justice.
In 2015, world leaders signed a treaty that failed to compel
Tehran to release the foreign and dual nationals who were
languishing in Iran’s prison system on trumped up charges. Nor
did the 2015 treaty bind the regime to abandoning its policy of
hostage diplomacy in the future. As a consequence, many more
innocent individuals have since been snatched by the Islamic
Republic.
The international community owes a debt to the foreign and
dual nationals who were abandoned in 2015 and that have been
imprisoned by the regime in the years since. It is beyond the
pale that world leaders should even consider signing a fresh
nuclear treaty that does not include a provision for the release
of the foreign and dual nationals being held captive by
Tehran.”
Notes to the editor:
https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/is
a not-for-profit, transatlantic advocacy group founded in 2008
that seeks to heighten awareness of the danger the Iranian regime
poses to the world.
It is led by an Advisory Board of outstanding figures
representing all sectors of the US and EU, including former
Ambassador to the UN Mark D. Wallace, Middle East expert
Ambassador Dennis Ross, and former Head of the UK’s MI6 Sir
Richard Dearlove.
UANI works to ensure the economic and diplomatic isolation of the
Iranian regime in order to compel Iran to abandon its illegal
nuclear weapons programme, support for terrorism and human rights
violations.
