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| UK-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe 'jailed on secret charges' | UK-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe 'jailed on secret charges' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A British-Iranian mother has been jailed for five years in Iran on "secret charges", her husband says. | A British-Iranian mother has been jailed for five years in Iran on "secret charges", her husband says. |
| Richard Ratcliffe said charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April, had called him from prison and said: "I can't bear to be in this place any longer." | Richard Ratcliffe said charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April, had called him from prison and said: "I can't bear to be in this place any longer." |
| She also said she missed her two-year-old daughter Gabriella "all the time". | She also said she missed her two-year-old daughter Gabriella "all the time". |
| Gabriella's passport was taken after her mother's arrest. The child is staying with her grandparents in Iran. | Gabriella's passport was taken after her mother's arrest. The child is staying with her grandparents in Iran. |
| Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at Tehran airport after visiting her family on holiday. | Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at Tehran airport after visiting her family on holiday. |
| The UK Foreign Office said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of her sentence and ministers would continue to raise the case with Iranian officials. | The UK Foreign Office said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of her sentence and ministers would continue to raise the case with Iranian officials. |
| 'Hostile network' | 'Hostile network' |
| Mr Ratcliffe, from north London, said his wife had phoned just before 09:00 BST on Friday to tell him she had been given a five-year sentence. | Mr Ratcliffe, from north London, said his wife had phoned just before 09:00 BST on Friday to tell him she had been given a five-year sentence. |
| She told him: "It has been horrendous. I do not want to wake up each morning and remember where I am. I want to stay in my dreams." | She told him: "It has been horrendous. I do not want to wake up each morning and remember where I am. I want to stay in my dreams." |
| She added: "I have been here so long. Do you understand what it is like to be a mother kept away from her child this long? | She added: "I have been here so long. Do you understand what it is like to be a mother kept away from her child this long? |
| "I have missed over a fifth of her life. What does that do to her?" | "I have missed over a fifth of her life. What does that do to her?" |
| The family say there has never been clear information about what Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is accused of, but Iranian officials have previously accused her of leading a "foreign-linked hostile network". | The family say there has never been clear information about what Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is accused of, but Iranian officials have previously accused her of leading a "foreign-linked hostile network". |
| Mr Ratcliffe said he had asked his wife during the phone call what the charges against her were. | Mr Ratcliffe said he had asked his wife during the phone call what the charges against her were. |
| He said she had asked a guard who was standing next to her by the phone and the guard had said: "National security charges." | He said she had asked a guard who was standing next to her by the phone and the guard had said: "National security charges." |
| Analysis | |
| By Richard Galpin, BBC world affairs correspondent | |
| For weeks following Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's arrest, her husband said nothing in public, hoping pressure from the Foreign Office might persuade Iranian authorities to release her quickly. | |
| When nothing came of that, he started campaigning publicly for his wife and two-year-old daughter to be allowed to return to Britain. | |
| The story was reported in the media in many countries, with more than 800,000 people signing a petition calling for her release. | |
| But now that too seems to have failed, and may even have backfired. | |
| The judge who convicted her made it clear he was unhappy about the media campaign, and even claimed it was evidence she was guilty. | |
| Iran's Revolutionary Guards have reportedly claimed her work for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which provides training for journalists and human rights activists, was part of a plot to undermine Iran's government. | |
| But it may be more about splits between the hardliners and moderates within the regime. | |
| Alternatively, some analysts believe hardliners may want western prisoners available to use as bargaining chips or for prisoner swaps. | |
| Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her lawyer were in court to hear the sentence passed down, but Mr Ratcliffe said it was not clear whether she had been told what she was charged with. | Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her lawyer were in court to hear the sentence passed down, but Mr Ratcliffe said it was not clear whether she had been told what she was charged with. |
| He told the BBC it was possible that she knew but had been forbidden from telling her family. | He told the BBC it was possible that she knew but had been forbidden from telling her family. |
| "It remains extraordinary that Nazanin's interrogators clarify the sentence but not the crime - because there is none," he said. | "It remains extraordinary that Nazanin's interrogators clarify the sentence but not the crime - because there is none," he said. |
| The case was "shrouded in shadows and internal politics", he added. | The case was "shrouded in shadows and internal politics", he added. |
| 'Bargaining chip' | 'Bargaining chip' |
| He also noted the timing, saying the court's decision - on 6 September - came a day after the UK had appointed an ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011. | He also noted the timing, saying the court's decision - on 6 September - came a day after the UK had appointed an ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011. |
| "Nazanin's detention and charges have always felt like she and Gabriella are being held as a political bargaining chip for internal and international politics," Mr Ratcliffe said. | "Nazanin's detention and charges have always felt like she and Gabriella are being held as a political bargaining chip for internal and international politics," Mr Ratcliffe said. |
| "The fact that she was sentenced with unrecognisable charges the day after the UK embassy was upgraded makes this all the clearer." | "The fact that she was sentenced with unrecognisable charges the day after the UK embassy was upgraded makes this all the clearer." |
| Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is expected to serve her sentence in Evin Prison, where she is currently being held in a high-security wing controlled by the Revolutionary Guard. | Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is expected to serve her sentence in Evin Prison, where she is currently being held in a high-security wing controlled by the Revolutionary Guard. |
| Mr Ratcliffe said he had told his wife she was "much loved". | Mr Ratcliffe said he had told his wife she was "much loved". |
| "I have thousands of messages for her to read one day. They keep me going now," he said. | "I have thousands of messages for her to read one day. They keep me going now," he said. |
| "They will be so important for her journey back once this cruelty is over. | "They will be so important for her journey back once this cruelty is over. |
| "I told her we so look forward to having her home." | "I told her we so look forward to having her home." |
| Mr Ratcliffe visited Downing Street in May as part of the campaign to free his wife, and last month Theresa May "raised concerns" over the case with Iran's president. | Mr Ratcliffe visited Downing Street in May as part of the campaign to free his wife, and last month Theresa May "raised concerns" over the case with Iran's president. |
| A Foreign Office spokeswoman said Mrs May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would continue to raise the case "with their counterparts in Iran". | A Foreign Office spokeswoman said Mrs May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would continue to raise the case "with their counterparts in Iran". |
| She said the government would also "continue to press the Iranians for consular access and for due process to be followed". | She said the government would also "continue to press the Iranians for consular access and for due process to be followed". |