Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe celebrated Christmas Day with a roast chicken and a pudding while in an Iranian prison.
It is the second Christmas she has spent away from her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, who said he is ‘waiting in limbo’ for his wife to be returned in time for the end of the festive holiday.
It is also the second Christmas Richard has been separated from his three-year-old daughter Gabriella, who is being looked after by Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s parents in Tehran, but he described the situation as ‘a lot more positive’ than last year.
Richard Ratcliffe said that his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe celebrated Christmas Day with a roast chicken and a pudding while in an Iranian prison
He had hoped to have her home in time for her Boxing Day birthday since Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s sister-in-law Rebecca Jones said her lawyer had discovered that her case had been marked as eligible for early release on a judiciary database.
On Christmas Day he said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the other prisoners had a celebratory meal of roast chicken and read out passages from the Quran and Bible.
He also said his wife made a Christmas pudding and explained to fellow inmates that normally it is covered with brandy which is then set alight.
This year marks the second Christmas Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has spent away from her husband and young daughter
She then celebrated her 39th birthday on December 26 by cooking for her fellow prisoners, and was even gifted with presents including coffee.
‘On her birthday what we did is we bought a cake and her family in Iran bought a cake, then across Skype Gabriella blew out the candles,’ Mr Ratcliffe said.
On Christmas Eve his daughter and his wife’s family were invited to the home of Nicholas Hopton, the British Ambassador to Iran.
He said: ‘She had a very nice time, he gave her a colouring book and then played around the Christmas tree with his children – they had Christmas cake and sang some carols.
Other than over Skype, Mr Ratcliffe, from Hampstead, north-west London, has not seen his daughter for more than half her life since her mother was arrested in April 2016 during a visit to her parents.
She is currently serving a five-year sentence over allegations of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government, which she denies.
He had hoped she would be home in time for Christmas Day or Boxing Day, but said that this ‘big happy news didn’t happen’ and he is currently in ‘waiting limbo’.
‘I think it is a question of when, not if,’ he said when asked if he is still optimistic about the release of his wife, who has been detained for nearly two years.
On Christmas Eve his daughter and his wife’s family were invited to the home of Nicholas Hopton, the British Ambassador to Iran
‘We put a lot of time into having her home for the Christmas holiday period (up until January 6), and if that doesn’t happen my worry is there must be something blocking and more complicated than we realised.
‘With each day that goes past it is another day that she has not been released, and so I need to be realistic about that.
‘But I haven’t given up hope that this holiday period still could deliver a late Christmas.’
Mr Ratcliffe also said there have been mentions of a second court case coming out of Iran, but that the idea of release is also ‘being talked about’.
He has said that if he doesn’t have her home by January 6 he is worried that there is something else blocking her release. Mrs Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been imprisoned in Iran since being arrested in April 2016
He said his wife was ‘fairly upbeat’ until December 23 when her release did not happen as previously thought, and that she was ‘very low’ on Christmas Eve.
He told MailOnline earlier this week: ‘This could be the best early Christmas and birthday present for her big day on Boxing Day all rolled into one.’
‘Nazanin is excited. Her lawyer is excited. I’m trying to remain cautiously optimistic as we’ve had false dawns before. But she’s been told that she could be out within a couple of weeks.
Mr Ratcliffe has not seen his three-year-old daughter Gabriella for more than half her life since her mother was arrested. She currently lives with her maternal Grandparents in Tehran
‘She told me on the phone yesterday. So on the face of it, she might not be home for Christmas as we’d all wanted, but she might just make it home very soon after. It looks like it could be the news we’ve been waiting for.’
The status change comes after British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson lobbied for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s early release on humanitarian grounds during a trip to Tehran earlier this month.
The Foreign Secretary was previously criticised for potentially doubling her sentence on fresh spying charges after wrongly saying that she’d been training journalists in Iran.
Speaking during a visit to Russia, Mr Johnson said: ‘I think the best thing I can say is that the truth is we are continuing to work very hard with all the consular cases, particularly the very difficult ones we have in Iran.
Boris Johnson was previously criticised for potentially doubling her sentence on fresh spying charges after wrongly saying that she’d been training journalists in Iran
‘I just don’t want to get into a running commentary. There are very good reasons for not saying anything.’
Thomson Reuters Foundation charity worker Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence in the secretive state over spying charges.
An online petition for her release has collected almost 1.5 million signatures.