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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Government to call for release on 'humanitarian grounds' Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Government considers diplomatic protection
(35 minutes later)
The government is to appeal for the release of a jailed British-Iranian woman from Iran on humanitarian grounds, according to her husband who met the Foreign Secretary. The Foreign Office is still considering whether it will give diplomatic protection to a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held by Tehran since April 2016 after being accused of spying - charges she denies.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held by Tehran since April 2016 after being accused of spying - charges she denies.
The meeting with Boris Johnson was arranged after he made comments that could double her five-year jail term. Her husband raised the issue of her being given diplomatic protection in a meeting with the foreign secretary.
The Foreign Office is considering if she will get diplomatic protection. The Foreign Office said lawyers would discuss the issue but said the question was whether it would help her case.
They described the meeting as "positive". Richard Ratcliffe met with Boris Johnson after the foreign secretary said during a Commons committee hearing that Mrs Zhagari-Ratcliffe was in Iran to "train journalists" - which could lead to her five-year jail term being doubled.
Richard Ratcliffe told a press conference after the meeting that he had raised the issue of giving diplomatic protection to his wife - which, under international law, allows a state to take diplomatic action on behalf of a national. He has since apologised for the remarks - made on 1 November - and retracted "any suggestion she was there in a professional capacity".
Earlier this week, Downing Street said it was "one of the options" being considered in the case. Her family have always maintained she was on holiday with her daughter.
Mr Ratcliffe said he thought the protection would be "important and helpful". Mr Ratcliffe told a press conference after the meeting that diplomatic protection - which allows a state to take diplomatic action on behalf of a national - would be "important and helpful".
But he said the Foreign Office expressed reservations and would consider the issue with its lawyers. But he said the Foreign Office expressed reservations about whether the protection would help his wife's case.
"They have agreed to answer the questions and then for the lawyers to sit down and talk it through. Both legally and then also practically."They have agreed to answer the questions and then for the lawyers to sit down and talk it through. Both legally and then also practically.
"But certainly, I think it is an important thing for us to be pushing for.""But certainly, I think it is an important thing for us to be pushing for."
Mr Ratcliffe said they also spoke about a possible joint trip to Iran before the end of the year. The Foreign Office said its lawyers would meet in the coming fortnight to discuss the issue further.
Mr Ratcliffe said Mr Johnson has no fixed date for his planned visit to Iran, but the Foreign Secretary was "keen" for him to travel with him. Mr Ratcliffe said he discussed with the foreign secretary the possibility of a joint trip to Iran before the end of the year.
He also spoke about and the health of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who he said had found lumps in her breasts. He said Mr Johnson had no fixed date for his planned visit to Iran, but the foreign secretary was "keen" for him to travel with him.
He also spoke about the health of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who he said had found lumps in her breasts.
"She talks about being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I absolutely believe that's true."She talks about being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I absolutely believe that's true.
"I think it's important I don't exaggerate anything in the media and I'm not melodramatic, but she is in a difficult place.""I think it's important I don't exaggerate anything in the media and I'm not melodramatic, but she is in a difficult place."
Mr Johnson previously told a Commons committee hearing that Mrs Zhagari-Ratcliffe was in Iran to train journalists. Mr Ratcliffe's MP, Tulip Siddiq, who joined him in the meeting, said he had failed to obtain a visa to visit Iran over the last 19 months and had not seen his daughter Gabriella, who is living in the country with her maternal grandparents, during that time.
Her family have always maintained she was on holiday with her daughter. She said they had communicated over Skype but his daughter had lost the ability to speak English.
Mr Johnson apologised for the "distress" and "suffering" he had caused with the comments he made at the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 1 November, and retracted "any suggestion she was there in a professional capacity". "So, if he gets to go with the foreign secretary, he gets to see his daughter for the first time in 19 months. And if he's there, he has the right to visit Nazanin in prison as her relative," she said.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, Mr Ratcliffe said: "I think the best chance Nazanin has of coming home this side of Christmas is all of the weight of the Foreign Office and the foreign secretary being focused on doing that." Ms Siddiq added that Mr Johnson had made clear he would "certainly" push to see Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe himself in prison if he goes to Iran.
Earlier this week, a statement from the Foreign Office said that Mr Johnson had "made it clear that no stone should be left unturned" in securing the release of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The Foreign Office said the meeting had been "positive".
"The Foreign Office remains very concerned about all our dual nationals detained in Iran and is doing everything it can in each of their cases, including trying to secure access to them and ensure their welfare," it added. It said the British ambassador in Iran had raised the case with the country again, urging for consular access, appropriate medical treatment, a decision on Mr Ratcliffe's visa application and access for him to visit his wife if a trip takes place.
"The foreign secretary concluded the meeting by saying that no stone would be left unturned in the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and that of our other dual nationals detained in Iran," the Foreign Office added.