Mother in Iran has her five year prison sentence confirmed

A British mother being held in Iran has had her five-year prison sentence confirmed today - despite her husband launching a campaign to bring her home.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, was arrested at Tehran Airport in Iran on April 3 while trying to leave the country with her toddler daughter, Gabriella.

She was originally put behind bars for an alleged plot to topple the government in the capital Tehran.





But her husband Richard Ratcliffe claimed she was being used as a 'bargaining chip' between Britain and Iran.



Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, from Hampstead, north west London, was sentenced to five years in prison in September after a conviction on unspecified 'national security-related' offences following a trial before a revolutionary court in Tehran.

However, Mr Ratcliffe said Iran claimed his wife was a 'spy' and she remains in the country with family after authorities seized her passport.

It comes as two more charges are said to have been levelled against Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe although the exact details have not been made public.

Speaking after he became aware of the appeal decision, with her sentence upheld, Mr Ratcliffe, 42, said: 'There was always a chance it was going to go bad, and it has done.

'I was kind of prepared for the worst, but I was trying not to worry about it. It remains a travesty, it is complete nonsense.

'They are not backing down and are continuing to use her as a bargaining chip.'

It is understood during the appeal hearing two new accusations from the Kerman branch of the Revolutionary Guard were raised against Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

These include the claim she was knowingly married to a British spy, and that she acted as the head of recruitment for BBC Farsi at the time of its founding and in 2009.

The Free Nazanin Campaign said that in fact, she was employed as a project assistant for BBC Media Action and has never worked for BBC Farsi.



Mr Ratcliffe said the allegations are 'plainly untrue'.

Her appeal was presided over by three judges, with her family learning of the verdict, announced on Sunday, through media reports.

Mr Ratcliffe said he was 'hopeful' when government minister Tobias Ellwood visited Iran last week, raising the cases of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual UK nationals being held.

'The fact that it was kept secret and the fact that the ruling had all the Revolutionary Guards there didn't feel like a very good sign,' Mr Ratcliffe said.

'Then the longer it went on, it felt like there was clearly some sort of internal fighting happening.

'Then the fact the minister went out there and it seemed to go well... I allowed myself to be a bit more positive.

'They have been fairly tough and uncompromising all the way through, so I shouldn't be too surprised that they continue to make outrageous claims.'

The Thomson Reuters Foundation employee was jailed for five years last September and appealed against her prison sentence earlier in January.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Hampstead, north-west London, was arrested at Tehran Airport in April while she was with her daughter Gabriella, and later jailed.

She has served 294 days behind bars so far, two months of which, Mr Ratcliffe said, have been in solitary confinement.

Their daughter is also in the country and being looked after by family.

He said there is possibly another legal route they can try, but that is a 'long way off' and that they will now create a longer term plan and carry on 'campaigning in earnest'.

Mr Ratcliffe said the Iranian government has taken Gabriella's passport, and it has not been given back despite a request from the British Government.

He is also trying to get a visa number so documents can be eventually obtained to visit Gabriella and his wife, so they can discuss what to do with their daughter.

Mr Ratcliffe said: 'It is no way to toy with people's lives. There is no way we will let it rest. Nazanin will not be forgotten.'

In May 2016, he launched an online petition to urge former Prime Minister David Cameron and Iran's Supreme Leader to secure the safe return of his wife and daughter.

His petition was signed by almost one million supporters in more than 155 countries around the world.  

He said his family has been 'caught up' in a disagreement between the two countries, claiming the UK owes about £500 million for a tank deal 40 years ago.

And according to Iranian news agency, Mizanonline.ir, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe - who has dual Iranian and British citizenship - had her sentence finalised today.

The report, which is affiliated with the country's judiciary, quoted Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi as saying the sentence on security charges against Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been completed. He did not elaborate.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news agency's charitable arm.