British mother facing court in Iran next month

A British mother who has spent almost two years in an Iranian jail has been will appear in court on December 10 to face charges in Tehran of spreading propaganda.

Aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already received a five-year jail term although she faces the prospect of that sentence being doubled after Boris Jonson suggested she was in Tehran teaching journalism.

It comes as doctors said that the mother-of one does not have breast cancer, her husband revealed.

Richard Ratcliffe said his wife, who is being held in Iran, was examined after finding lumps on her breasts but that they are not cancerous. 

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, right, pictured with her husband Richard and their child Gabriella

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already been sentenced to five years in prison and has not seen her daughter Gabriella, right, since her arrest in April 2016 when she tried to leave Iran

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has not seen her daughter since April 2016 when she was arrested

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already been sentenced to five years in prison and has not seen her daughter Gabriella, right, since her arrest in April 2016 when she tried to leave Iran

‘She was taken to hospital 10 days ago and had a check-up again on Saturday. I spoke to her Sunday,’ he added.

‘She had been given medication the week before, the lumps had responded to medication – that meant if they responded to medication they couldn’t be cancerous.

‘So she was hugely relieved – there’s been so much going on.’

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is due to have another ultrasound in three months, by which time ‘hopefully she can be seen by the NHS’, he added. 

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliff is an aid worker with the Thomson Reuters foundation. She was accused of trying to overthrow the clerical regime in Tehran. She strongly denies all the charges.

Her husband confirmed her upcoming court date. 

He said: ‘She’s been told she will appear in court on December 10.’ He said that he understood she would appear in court charged with spreading propaganda.

Her husband confirmed her upcoming court date. 

He said: ‘She’s been told she will appear in court on December 10.’ He said that he understood she would appear in court charged with spreading propaganda.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s fate become a major political issue in Britain after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made remarks on November 1 that appeared to cast doubt on statements from her employer about what she had been doing in Iran.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity organisation that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News, said she had been on holiday.

Johnson told a parliamentary committee he understood she had been teaching people journalism before her arrest in April 2016. He later apologised for his remarks. The Thomson Reuters Foundation said she had not been training journalists in Iran.

Iranian state television has said Johnson’s comments showed Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s guilt and that she was involved in spying.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case was complicated by an error by the Foreign Secretary as well as the proceeds of an arms deal form the late 1970s. 

The mother-of-one's employer The Thomson Reuters Foundation confirmed she has not been training journalists while on her visit to see her family in Iran

The mother-of-one’s employer The Thomson Reuters Foundation confirmed she has not been training journalists while on her visit to see her family in Iran

Richard Ratcliffe, right, discussed his wife's case with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left

Richard Ratcliffe, right, discussed his wife’s case with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left

During a recent meeting of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, chairman Tom Tugendhat quizzed foreign office minister Alistair Burt about the UK’s policy in Iran. 

He asked: ‘Would you agree with me that the situation in Yemen very much points to the fact we have a failed Iran policy?

‘We have a capital in Tehran that is taking British hostages, developing missiles, that is threatening its neighbours, destabilising the region and our policy is what? There’s none.’

Mr Burt replied: ‘There is a significant policy in relation towards Iran, which a number of different debates and conversations in this House have detailed.

‘Work is going on to explore what opportunities there are for Iran to play a more constructive part in the region, but in relation to human rights sanctions, in relation to criticism about their activities with terrorist groups in the area, and their ability to destabilise the region, the United Kingdom is very clear on its position about that.

‘But there is engagement with Iran, which is important both for the United Kingdom and for others and I think the policy of that constructive engagement is actually very clear.’ 

The government has denied there is any link between Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s situation and the decision to to repay a debt of £400 million over an arms deal.  

The debt dates back to an arms contract for which Britain had received an advance payment from Iran but which was halted by the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The money is being held in a frozen bank account in Britain, but sending the funds to Iran is complicated because of European Union and US sanctions on the country.

Separately, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has vowed to make every effort to secure the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned 19 months ago on charges of sedition.

A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘We don’t see any link between these two issues.’ 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi also denied any link in comments to Iran’s IRNA state news agency.

He said: The case of Mrs Nazanin Zaghari and the repayment of this debt are two distinct issues and there is no connection between them.’ 

However, it has been suggested that settling the debt could facilitate the mother-of-one’s release.

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