rooster59 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Jailed British-Iranian aid worker in Iran starts hunger strike: husband Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of jailed British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe stages a vigil and goes on hunger strike outside of the Iranian embassy in London, Britain, June 15, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) - A British-Iranian aid worker jailed in Tehran has begun a hunger strike to demand release, her husband said on Saturday, adding he would support her by fasting outside Iran's embassy in London. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 at a Tehran airport as she headed back to Britain with her daughter after a family visit. She was sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment, a charge denied by her family and the Foundation, a charity organisation that operates independently of Thomson Reuters and Reuters News. "Today I received a phone call from Nazanin in prison. She had informed the judiciary that she has begun a new hunger strike - she will drink water – to protest at her continuing unfair imprisonment," her husband Richard said in a statement. "Today she sounded nervous, but calm. Her demand from the strike, she said, is for unconditional release. She has long been eligible for it." Britain has also called for her release, a demand repeated on Twitter by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Saturday. Her jailing has added further tension to Britain's already strained ties with Iran. Iran's judiciary could not immediately be reached for comment. Tehran has previously said her case was in the judiciary's hands. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband said he would stage a hunger strike outside the Iranian Embassy in London from Saturday. In January, Zaghari-Ratcliffe went on hunger strike for several days in protest after her family said she was refused permission to see a doctor to examine lumps in her breast and to address other health issues. Her family said she ended the hunger strike a few days later following a decision to grant her medical treatment. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Edmund Blair) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-16 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Poor thing I hope she is released Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulic Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Go to places like Iran, North Korea, China (for some Canadians) and you roll the dice. The governments are quite fickle and despotic. No ethics or rule of law. You go there you take your chances. You can be detained and thrown in jail on a whim or trumped-up charges. Just don't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil B Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Ulic said: Go to places like Iran, North Korea, China (for some Canadians) and you roll the dice. The governments are quite fickle and despotic. No ethics or rule of law. You go there you take your chances. You can be detained and thrown in jail on a whim or trumped-up charges. Just don't go. She is dual British-Iranian national, went home for new year in 2016. Boris Johnson ******-up negotiations for her release... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrogaz Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 There is something about this guy that I do not like. He seems to be a bit of a publicity hound, although perhaps that is what is needed to free his wife. Thing is that as Boris Johnson slipped up and told the Commons that she was only organising journalist workshops (ie she had broken Iranian laws). I think she was an MI6 asset. Dual nationals are often targeted by intelligence agencies and recruited to spy for either country. She only got 5 years, perhaps it would be better and instead of making a fuss, keep quiet and hope to get let out early. Alternatively Britain could pay the 400 million pounds (plus interest from1979) that it owes Iran for non delivery of the Chieftain tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 very bad timing as the Iranians have a few things on the go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabhand Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Many press/media reports have mention of her as a 'charity/aid worker' for The Thomson Reuters Foundation. It takes no time to research this organisation (over and above the extremely obvious linkage to the component parts of the foundation name) to arrive at the conclusion that she was indeed involved with training journalists. http://www.trust.org/about-us/ Johnson stating that her work was linked to journalism is no more than was obvious from the start. Those blaming BJ for the plight of this Iranian lady are merely ignoring her total blame for the predicament in which she now finds herself. It also appears that she used her young daughter to give the impression it was a family visit rather than, most probably, attempted clandestine meetings with her local 'contacts'. I only feel sorry for her daughter........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelseafan Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, dabhand said: Many press/media reports have mention of her as a 'charity worker' for The Thomson Reuters Foundation. It takes no time to research this organisation (over and above the extremely obvious linkage to the component parts of the foundation name) to arrive at the conclusion that she was indeed involved with training journalists. http://www.trust.org/about-us/ Johnson stating that her work was linked to journalism is no more than was obvious from the start. Those blaming BJ for the plight of this Iranian lady are merely ignoring her total blame for the predicament in which she now finds herself. It also appears that she used her young daughter to give the impression it was a family visit rather than, most probably, attempted clandestine meetings with her local 'contacts'. I only feel sorry for her daughter........... What bothers me about this case is not whether she is guilty or innocent but the lack of evidence provided by the Iranian authorities. Wiki In early September 2016 she was sentenced to five years in prison "for allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian regime."The prosecutor general of Tehran stated in October 2017 that she was imprisoned for running "...a BBC Persian online journalism course which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack100 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 This may come back to haunt Boris ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lungbing Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 She's an Iranian citizen who entered Iran on her Iranian passport. It is nothing to do with the UK. Had she entered Iran on her British passport then that would be different, but she didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 1 hour ago, lungbing said: She's an Iranian citizen who entered Iran on her Iranian passport. It is nothing to do with the UK. Had she entered Iran on her British passport then that would be different, but she didn't. Is that a real "thing"? You cease to be considered a citizen if you use your other passport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 3 hours ago, from the home of CC said: very bad timing as the Iranians have a few things on the go... Or a good one. Like if Iran wanted to make some goodwill move which costs nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtank Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Don't worry. Boris Johnson is going to sort it when he is PM. Or then again double the sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 6 hours ago, Pedrogaz said: There is something about this guy that I do not like. He seems to be a bit of a publicity hound, although perhaps that is what is needed to free his wife. Thing is that as Boris Johnson slipped up and told the Commons that she was only organising journalist workshops (ie she had broken Iranian laws). I think she was an MI6 asset. Dual nationals are often targeted by intelligence agencies and recruited to spy for either country. She only got 5 years, perhaps it would be better and instead of making a fuss, keep quiet and hope to get let out early. Alternatively Britain could pay the 400 million pounds (plus interest from1979) that it owes Iran for non delivery of the Chieftain tanks. There's something about the guy. You don't like him. A bit of a publicity hound, but maybe that's alright. You think she was an MI6 asset. Because she's got dual nationality. Supposedly such people are often targeted and recruited. So there. The UK government should pay 400 million in order to free a citizen held by a repressive regime. Half-cooked and unhinged are two words which come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 stupid is as stupid does. She should have considered herself lucky to have gotten out of Iran. She went back. That was stupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRoadrunner Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 7 hours ago, from the home of CC said: very bad timing as the Iranians have a few things on the go... Looks like they are about to get a bloody nose from the Americans. As for Boris cocking up negotiations for her release.... is he fit to be Prime Minister? And how would he fare negotiating Brexit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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