Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

On Tuesday (3 November 2020), the Government was asked an Urgent Question about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Nazanin is a British-Iranian dual national who was arrested in Iran in 2016 and handed a five-year sentence.  In September, it was announced that Nazanin was facing new charges.  The Minister for the Middle East said the Government summoned the Iranian ambassador on 29 October to make clear its concerns about these new charges.

Nazanin's new trial commenced on 2 November and was adjourned. She remains under house arrest at her parents' home in Tehran, where she has been since March.  The Minister repeated the Government's call on the Iranian authorities to make Nazanin's release from prison permanent.

I believe the adjournment of Nazanin's trial delays a potential further miscarriage of justice, but also any prospect of a conclusion to a truly unimaginable ordeal. I believe the threat of reincarceration, the constant harassment by members of Iran's revolutionary guard, the repeated delay to judicial hearings, and the levelling of false charges are tantamount to nothing less than mental torture.

As we approach the fifth Christmas that Nazanin will be unable to spend with her family, I hope the Government will do everything in its power to bring her safely home.

Thank you for contacting me.

Yours sincerely

Peter Dowd MP