Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe
(Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement
on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa ()
Iran’s decision to sentence Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on further
charges is totally inhumane and wholly unjustified. This
Government remain committed to doing all that we can to secure
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s return home to the United Kingdom so that
she can be reunited with her daughter, Gabriella, and her
husband, Richard. It is indefensible and unacceptable that Iran
has chosen to continue this wholly arbitrary court case against
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The Iranian Government have deliberately
put her through a cruel and inhumane ordeal. We continue to call
on Iran in the strongest possible terms to end her suffering and
allow her to return home.
Since her arrest in April 2016, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has faced
terrible hardship and appalling treatment. This Government have
relentlessly lobbied for an improvement to both the conditions
endured by Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe while she was in prison and
those conditions still experienced by others, including Morad
Tahbaz and Anoosheh Ashoori, who are still incarcerated. Although
Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and therefore views Mrs
Zaghari-Ratcliffe as only an Iranian citizen, that has not
stopped this Government from lobbying at every opportunity for
their release, and her return home to the UK. We have never been
granted sight of the judicial process, or consular access to our
dual British nationals detained in Iran; however, that has not
stopped our ambassador in Tehran consistently pressing for her
full and permanent release with senior Iranian interlocutors,
most recently today, 27 April.
Since I was last at the Dispatch Box, the Foreign Secretary and
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have been
in regular contact with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family. Our
ambassador in Tehran has visited Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe at her
parents’ home in Tehran to reiterate the Government’s commitment
to do all that we can to secure her return to the UK. The Foreign
Secretary has spoken with both Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her
husband to underline the fact that the UK Government, from the
Prime Minister down, remain committed to doing everything that we
can to achieve that.
Since Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s arrest in 2016, we have raised the
case regularly at the highest levels of Government. The Prime
Minister has raised it with President Rouhani, most recently on
10 March, and the Foreign Secretary’s personal ongoing engagement
with Foreign Minister Zarif continues, with their most recent
call being on 3 April. That lobbying of Iranian interlocutors at
every opportunity has helped to secure the release of Mrs
Zaghari-Ratcliffe in March 2020 and the removal of her ankle tag
on 7 March this year.
As I have said, however, what we ultimately seek to achieve, and
what we are ultimately working towards, is the release of all
British dual nationals held in arbitrary detention in Iran, and
their ability to return home. The UK continues to take concrete
steps to hold Iran to account for its poor human rights record.
At the Human Rights Council in March 2021, we strongly supported
the renewal mandate of the United Nations special rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in Iran, and we made clear to Iran
that its repeated violations of human rights, including those of
foreign and dual nationals, are completely unacceptable. The UK
Government also joined the Canadian initiative against arbitrary
detention on 15 February. We continue to work with G7 partners to
enhance mechanisms to uphold international law, tackle human
rights abuses and stand up for our shared values.
I assure the House that the safety and the treatment of dual
British national detainees in Iran remains a top priority for the
UK Government. Iran is the one responsible for putting Mrs
Zaghari-Ratcliffe through this cruel and inhumane ordeal over the
last five years, and it remains on them to release her to be
reunited with her family, and to release the others. We continue
to stress that these second charges are baseless. She must not be
returned to prison.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. The
whole House will be aware that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, my
constituent, has been in prison in Iran for five years now; from
last March, she has been under house arrest. The Iranian
authorities dangled the possibility of freedom in front of her by
removing her ankle tag, but then, yesterday, announced that she
had one more year in prison and another year of a travel
ban—effectively, a two-year sentence.
As the news unfolded yesterday, I watched with great interest as
the Prime Minister talked about redoubling his efforts to get
Nazanin home and how he was working as hard as he possibly could
to secure her release. If the Prime Minister is watching now, I
would like to ask him what efforts he has put into trying to
release Nazanin in the first place, because from where I am
standing I have seen no evidence on the part of the Prime
Minister so far.
At the heart of this tragic case is the Prime Minister’s dismal
failure to release my constituent and to stand up for her, and
his devastating blunder in 2017, as Foreign Secretary, when he
exposed his complete ignorance of this tragic case and put more
harm in Nazanin’s way. The Prime Minister did not even arrange
for UK officials to attend Nazanin’s recent court hearing, which
might have ensured that she got a free and fair trial. He still
has not got his Government to pay the £400 million debt that we
as a country owe Iran. We MPs might be many things, but we are
not naive. We cannot deny the fact that Nazanin was handed a
fresh new sentence a week after the International Military
Services debt court hearing was delayed. Bearing that in mind, I
have a few questions to ask the Minister. I would really
appreciate some proper answers from him.
Will he acknowledge that Nazanin is being held hostage by Iran
and is a victim of torture? In light of the recent adjournment of
the IMS debt hearing scheduled for last week, what are the
Government doing to ensure the debt is paid promptly? The Prime
Minister said yesterday that he was working with our American
friends on this issue. Can the Minister please explain what that
involves and why the US has had more success in securing the
release of dual nationals than we have? Tomorrow, another
British-Iranian dual national, Mehran Raoof, is on trial in Iran.
What link does the Minister see between development in that and
Nazanin’s case and upcoming talks on the Iran nuclear deal?
The Prime Minister and other Ministers might not listen to me,
but perhaps they will listen to someone from their own Benches.
The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee said today that
Nazanin is being held hostage by Iran. Please, Minister—please,
everyone on the Government Benches—get Nazanin released, stand up
to Iran and bring my constituent home.
I completely understand the passion with which the hon. Lady
speaks and I can hear the anger and frustration in her voice.
However, her anger and frustration are misdirected, because
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the other British dual nationals
held in arbitrary detention are being held by Iran—it is on them.
The situation with regard to the charges that have recently been
brought against other British dual nationals, and indeed the
sentence that has been handed down for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is
because of Iran, and it should be towards Iran that we direct our
attention.
With regard to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s treatment, our priority
has always been her full release and her ability to return home
to the UK. The UK does not and will never accept our dual
nationals being used as diplomatic leverage. We recognise that
her treatment has been completely unacceptable. It is totally
inhumane and wholly unjustified, and we call upon Iran to allow
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe to return home to the UK and to release
from detention all British dual nationals that are being held.
The hon. Lady speaks about international co-operation. Of course
we co-operate with our international partners on a whole range of
issues with regard to Iran, including the United States of
America and the E3, and, as I have already said, we are working
with Canada on the work that it is doing on the initiative
against arbitrary detention. We will continue to focus our
efforts on getting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe home to the UK and the
other dual nationals in detention fully released.
(Tonbridge and Malling) (Con) [V]
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for agreeing to the request from
the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn () for an urgent question. It is absolutely essential
that we keep a focus on this cruel and inhumane treatment of a
mother being held captive as a hostage and a pawn in order to get
ransom money out of others and to extract diplomatic leverage.
Let us keep that focus where it really belongs: on the brutal,
tyrannical regime in Tehran that treats its own people as
hostages and pawns. As we focus on that, can we please focus on
why the regime is doing that? It is doing it for personal profit,
to sow violence in the region, and in order to mask its crimes.
Perhaps the Minister can tell us what sanctions are going to be
brought against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which has so
profited from this violent regime, and, now that corruption is
permitted as a reason to use the Magnitsky sanctions, how that is
going to be used to ensure that the regime’s pockets are emptied
and not filled.
My hon. Friend the Chairman of the Select Committee is absolutely
right to say that the blame lies with the Iranian regime—not even
with the Iranian people but with the Iranian regime. He will
understand that I am not willing to discuss sanctions
designations for fear that that might be prejudicial to any
future success. We do, of course, recognise that Iran’s behaviour
is unacceptable in a number of ways, not just on the detention of
British dual nationals, but with regard to its international and
regional actions, and we call on Iran to step away from the
dangerous and self-destructive route that it has taken and to
rejoin the international community and be a regional partner that
behaves in accordance with international rules and norms.
(Caerphilly) (Lab) [V]
After having completed a five-year sentence, for Nazanin to be
given a further one-year sentence and a travel ban is truly
appalling. Let us be clear: Nazanin was put on trial on a
trumped-up charge of promoting “propaganda against the system”
and found guilty after a sham trial. Sadly, we are seeing a
sustained failure of British diplomacy. Now the Government must
demand Nazanin’s immediate and unconditional release in the
strongest possible terms, so that she can return to Britain and
be with her family. As the UN special rapporteur has said, it is
totally unacceptable that Iran is imprisoning UK nationals,
Nazanin and others, in an attempt to exert diplomatic leverage.
Let us not forget that other British nationals are also being
unfairly imprisoned in Iran. Anoosheh Ashoori has been held for
three and a half years and says that the UK Government are not
doing enough to secure his release. My question to the Minister
is this: clearly the Government’s approach to date has not
worked, so what are they now doing to secure the release of
Nazanin and the others so that they can all come home?
The Government work on behalf of all the British dual nationals,
whether they be held in detention, open prison or elsewhere, and
indeed of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe so that she can come home. The UK
has had some positive impact. For example, Mrs
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release on furlough and the removal of her
ankle tag were in response to lobbying by this Government. We
want to do more. We want to ensure that the people who are held
in detention are released and are all able to return home to
their families. We will continue to work hard at every level of
Government to ensure that that happens.
(Harrow East)
(Con) [V]
I congratulate the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn
() on securing this urgent question and on ensuring that
the family of Nazanin and the imprisonment of Nazanin herself are
at the forefront of our minds in this House. Iran has a dreadful
human rights record, with the largest number of executions
anywhere in the world and the oppression of its native people.
Does my right hon. Friend not find it ironic then that the United
Nations Economic and Social Council elected Iran for a full
four-year term to the Commission on the Status of Women? Will he
therefore take that up at the United Nations to say that it is
totally unacceptable for a country that suppresses women and
imprisons them without proper process even to be considered to
represent human rights across the world?
The UK Government take the rights of women very seriously, and,
indeed, one of the priorities as set out for our official
development assistance expenditure is girls’ education. The
election of countries to various roles in the United Nations is
ultimately a decision for that multilateral forum, but I
understand the concerns that my hon. Friend has raised about
Iran’s treatment of women. We call upon Iran to do the right
thing, and we will continue to lobby for the release and return
of British dual nationals and also on a whole range of other
issues where we believe that Iran’s behaviour is unacceptable.
Mr Speaker
Let us go to the SNP spokesperson, .
(Dundee West) (SNP) [V]
The SNP’s condemnation of the Iranian Government for the
painfully outrageous detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is
unequivocal. Iran has never followed the rule of law in Nazanin’s
case and she has never received a fair trial. Its cruelty, it
seems, is boundless. The precise nature of the charges and
evidence in the second case remain unclear and indistinct from
the first case. What confirmation have the UK Government sought
on the detail of these charges and whether Nazanin will be
returned to prison, or put under house arrest, as a result of
this new sentence? Furthermore, it is easy to forget that
Nazanin’s case is yet another matter that the Prime Minister has
blundered into and made much worse with his grossly incompetent
mishandling while Foreign Secretary. He cannot continue to wash
his hands of this case. Will the Prime Minister be making an
apology on record to Nazanin and her family, and will the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office now do all that it
can with the utmost urgency to undo the damage that the Prime
Minister has done to secure Nazanin’s release?
What we have seen in recent days is the completely arbitrary
nature of the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and of other
British dual nationals in Iran. This is the action of the Iranian
regime and we should not let them off the hook by attempting to
divert attention elsewhere. It is down to the Iranian regime. We
will continue to work to secure the release of those incarcerated
and the return home of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. We are seeking
detail, because the detail was quite sparse initially, on what
exactly this means and we will be lobbying in the first instance
to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is not returned to prison.
We will continue to push for her return home to the UK and for
the full and permanent release of the others who are detained.
(Blackpool South) (Con)
Iran has proudly announced that it is now enriching uranium to
60% purity, a move that puts the country perilously near the
threshold for weapons-grade uranium. Given this latest
provocative nuclear action, Tehran’s ongoing support for terror
proxies and its detention of British citizens, including Mrs
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, does the Minister share my view that it would
be dangerous to ease sanctions on Iran?
My hon. Friend makes an important point about Iran’s broader
destabilising actions. I will not speculate as to future
decisions about sanctions, for the reason that I gave to the
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, but we are very conscious
that Iran’s behaviour on a number of fronts is unacceptable. It
should return to compliance with the JCPOA, and that is what we
are calling on it to do.
(Oxford
West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]
Liberal Democrats join colleagues across the House in their
condemnation of the Iranian regime’s actions. Our hearts have to
go out to Richard, Gabriella and the whole family. This must feel
like one step forward, two steps back. I sincerely hope that the
Government are considering Magnitsky sanctions, which are surely
the next step.
I am concerned about Nazanin’s current state. Redress says that
Nazanin
“has already suffered severe physical and psychological impacts
from the torture and ill-treatment”
and that if she is subjected to more, it could cause “irreparable
damage” to her. What immediate attention have our Government
directed to the Iranian regime to ensure that Nazanin’s medical
needs are met in full?
We are very conscious of the health of all those detained,
particularly in the light of the covid situation. We lobby the
Iranian Government hard and regularly to ensure that British dual
nationals held in detention have adequate medical treatment, and
we will continue to push for the thing that we are all ultimately
trying to achieve, which is their full release and their ability
to return to the UK.
(South West Surrey) (Con)
I thank the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn () for securing this question and for her tenacious
campaigning for Nazanin. I also thank the Minister for mentioning
Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz, the other dual nationals,
because they, too, have families who are desperately upset by the
incarceration of their loved ones.
What will the consequences be for Iran of this hostage diplomacy,
other than words? We know that it does not fundamentally care
what we think or say, and it has to know that there will be
consequences. We have to do our part by settling the IMS issue,
which, however unjustified, is being linked to Nazanin’s
incarceration, and that is taking a very long time. Ultimately,
what will the consequences be for Iran of continuing with hostage
diplomacy? Otherwise, it is all bark and no bite.
I thank my right hon. Friend for reinforcing the point that, as
well as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, there are other British dual
nationals incarcerated. The UK Government work tirelessly to
secure the release of all those people. Some of them are
household names and others are less well known, but we work on
behalf of all of them. I assure him that we will continue to
lobby to try to secure the release of them all and that we will
investigate the full range of options, but, as I said, it would
be inappropriate for me to speculate at the Dispatch Box as to
what those might be.
(Islington North) (Ind) [V]
I compliment my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn
() on her tireless work on behalf of her constituent and
other dual nationals held in Iran. It is disgraceful that they
are still held. It is disgraceful that Nazanin has had another
sentence imposed on her, and she ought to be released. In the
many negotiations that are no doubt taking place with the Iranian
Government, what other issues are raised by Iran? Is the issue of
financial dealings between Britain and Iran in the past raised?
What other discussions does the Minister propose to have with
Iran in order to secure the early release of all the dual
nationals?
The UK does not and will never accept dual nationals being used
for political leverage, so I am not going to amplify whatever
claims the Iranian regime have made about them. Our message and
the message that I hope the right hon. Gentleman and every other
Member of the House would echo is that the Iranian regime must
release our people.
(South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)
As my right hon. Friend will know, in 2019, the Foreign Secretary
visited Iran, where he raised the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe
with Foreign Minister Zarif. Since then, what other discussions
has the Foreign Secretary had with the Minister to try to resolve
this and is any progress being made in each of these
communications?
As I have said, we engage regularly at the most senior levels
with the Iranian Government. We had diplomatic engagement to
secure Nazanin’s initial furlough and the removal of the ankle
tag. Our ambassador visited Nazanin at her home last week. We
raise the case regularly; the Prime Minister raised it in his
recent call with President Rouhani and the Foreign Secretary did
so in his call to Foreign Minister Zarif. The British ambassador
to Tehran has formally protested Nazanin’s continued confinement.
We will raise this on every occasion where we have an opportunity
to speak with the Iranian regime. We will continue to push this
until all our British dual nationals are released and allowed to
return home.
(Gower) (Lab)
Last year, Nazanin’s husband Richard Ratcliffe said he feared
that, if she was not home for Christmas, there is
“every chance this could run for years.”
Was he right, Minister?
I sincerely hope that he is not right. We will continue to work
to bring Nazanin home and for the release of all British dual
nationals. Their incarceration is unacceptable, unjustified and
arbitrary, and it must stop.
(Kensington)
(Con)
We are strongest when we work together with our international
partners. I understand that several western countries have
citizens who are dual nationals and suffering a similar dreadful
fate to Nazanin. Will my right hon. Friend update the House as to
what discussions he has had with our western allies about how we
can work together for the release of our citizens?
I thank my hon. Friend for the points she raises about the
international nature of this situation. Of course, we work
closely with our international partners—as I have said, with the
E3 and the United States of America—in particular with regard to
our policy towards Iran. We will work with any and all
international friends and partners to bring pressure to bear for
the release of their and our dual nationals in detention. The
challenge is that Iran does not recognise dual national status
and therefore denies us a number of the consular access
opportunities we would normally have. We will continue to work to
secure the release of our British nationals in Iran.
(Newport West) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn
() for her urgent question, and all that she does to
champion Nazanin’s case and get her home to her family. It is a
shame that the Foreign Secretary is not here today to answer the
questions himself. In Newport West, the case is personal because
Richard Ratcliffe’s sister is a constituent of mine, so I was
determined to speak today. The United Nations has previously
ruled that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment is unlawful
and ordered Iran to release her, so what are this Government
doing to work through the international community to put pressure
on Iran to follow their international obligations?
As I said in response to the previous question, we work with and
will continue to work with our international friends and partners
on a range of issues with regard to Iran and its destabilising
behaviour, both globally and in the region.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
Is it the view of Her Majesty’s Government—or, indeed, of any
previous Government—that we do, or do not owe any money to Iran?
The legal situation with the IMS debt has been settled. It is a
multi-decade-long problem, and we are investigating ways by which
this can be resolved.
(Glasgow Central) (SNP) [V]
My constituent Sarah McCullough is one of many who have been in
touch over the years to express their concerns and solidarity
with Nazanin and her family. Nazanin’s continued detention is a
mark of failure of this Government, this Minister and his
predecessors. What confidence can British citizens have in the
ability of this UK Government to protect them abroad?
The situation of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the other British
dual nationals held in detention is the fault of the Iranian
regime. We must never lose sight of that. It has the power to
release them, it should release them, and we regularly call on it
to do so and allow them to return to the United Kingdom. The
United Kingdom gives travel advice to help to inform British
travellers when they go overseas, and we have an extensive
network to give support to British travellers. We absolutely do
everything we can to protect our British nationals when they are
overseas and when they find themselves in a situation such as the
British dual nationals in Iran have found themselves in. We work
tirelessly in all respects, in all cases, to support them.
(Wealden) (Con)
I know that the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn () looks forward to the day she does not have to bring
this case to the House, and we are with her on that. Nazanin has
an extra year in prison and another year of not being able to be
at home with her family. As the Minister says, this is both
inhumane and unjustified, and it is squarely at the feet of the
Iranian regime. Was he as surprised as I was when the United
Nations, in its wisdom, elected Iran to the Commission on the
Status of Women? That shows a couple of things, not just about
the United Nations but also the fact that Iran wants to have
credibility on the international stage. So will the Minister
impress on the United Nations that one way for Iran to hold its
position is to allow Nazanin and other dual nationals home?
My hon. Friend—my dear hon. Friend—makes an incredibly important
point. If Iran wants to be taken seriously and to speak with
authority on the international stage, it must change its
behaviours on a whole range of issues, but most notably with
regard to the release of the British dual nationals held in
incarceration and their ability to return home to the United
Kingdom.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his update. We all share the same
frustration and that goes without saying. To say that the
situation is distressing is a gross understatement. While I
understand the issues highlighted, it is my opinion that
something must be done to reunite this mother with her child,
husband and family. Is there nothing that can legally be done by
the UK Government in conjunction with other Governments, such as
those of the USA and the EU, and with the UN to stop the
persecution of this British citizen and the desecration of this
British family?
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that this whole House
shares the frustration at the situation that these people find
themselves in, through no fault of their own. We will, as I say,
continue to work with international partners on a whole range of
issues with regard to Iran. We will continue to lobby Iran to
change its behaviours and to come back into the international
fold. One of the most high-profile and perhaps one of the easiest
things that it could do is to release these people and allow them
to return home.
(East Devon) (Con) [V]
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s decision to grant Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe diplomatic protection to help her to resolve
her case. This is the first time that this tool has been used in
recent memory. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on what
further steps the UK is taking to help to secure Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release?
I thank my hon. Friend for his point about the granting of
diplomatic status. That sends a signal to Iran of how seriously
we take the issue of our British dual nationals. This Government
remain committed to doing everything we can to secure the full,
permanent release of all dual nationals, including the return
home of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. We constantly review what
further steps we might take—as I said, that is not something I am
willing to speculate about at the Dispatch Box—to secure the
release of all our British dual nationals and allow them to
return home.
(Slough) (Lab)
Like many other Brits abroad, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been
completely let down by this Government through a litany of
errors, including the Prime Minister’s gaffe. Nazanin and her
family will doubtless be experiencing serious mental health
pressures and anguish at this point in time. Indeed, her husband,
Richard Ratcliffe, has previously stated that the Government’s
inability to secure his wife’s return is a “failure of
diplomacy”. Would not the Minister agree that this further
sentence proves that he is right?
Sadly, what this sentence proves is that Iran is willing to do
anything to attempt to apply diplomatic leverage, using British
dual nationals as the tool. We will never accept that. We will
continue to lobby for the release of all the British dual
nationals. As I say, the fault sits wholly, squarely with Iran.
(Newbury) (Con)
I join colleagues from across this House in our condemnation of
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s further imprisonment. Could I press
my right hon. Friend a little further on Iran’s election to the
Commission on the Status of Women? This is not just an empty
title; it confers status and suggests a commitment to gender
equality that Iran does not have. Could we not use our position
on the UN Security Council, in conjunction with allies, to
consider our own participation with the commission for as long as
Iran remains a member?
My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. The various
functions within the United Nations are separate from each other.
However, she does raise a broader point about the treatment and
status of women in Iran. This is something we take incredibly
seriously. We will continue to lobby for improvements for the
status of women, both in Iran and globally, as part of our force
for good agenda.
(Lewisham East) (Lab) [V]
The news that Nazanin will be forced to spend another two years
in Iran, far from her family, is completely devastating. Anousheh
Ashoori, who is also being held in Tehran in prison as a hostage,
is dearly missed by his family in my constituency of Lewisham
East. Over the past few days, his family have been concerned that
he is showing severe signs of coronavirus. What urgent action
will the Foreign Secretary take this week to ensure Anousheh gets
the medical furlough he desperately needs?
I thank the hon. Lady for the point that she has raised and the
work that I know she has done in support of her constituent. We
are aware—we have been in contact, and we are aware—of the
concerns about the medical situation in the prison, and we have
pushed the Iranian regime to allow access of medical
professionals for, as I say, Mr Ashoori. We will continue to push
for the better treatment of our British joint nationals while
they are incarcerated, but ultimately for their release and
ability to return home.
