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| Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Boris Johnson must be brave over jailed Briton, says husband | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Boris Johnson must be brave over jailed Briton, says husband |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson must be "brave" to secure the release of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, her husband has said. | Boris Johnson must be "brave" to secure the release of a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, her husband has said. |
| Richard Ratcliffe, who will meet the prime minister later, said he wanted to hold Mr Johnson to a promise he made in 2017 to "leave no stone unturned" to bring his wife home. | Richard Ratcliffe, who will meet the prime minister later, said he wanted to hold Mr Johnson to a promise he made in 2017 to "leave no stone unturned" to bring his wife home. |
| Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained for almost four years over spying allegations she denies. | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained for almost four years over spying allegations she denies. |
| Her five-year-old daughter will also be at the meeting in No 10 on Thursday. | Her five-year-old daughter will also be at the meeting in No 10 on Thursday. |
| Mr Radcliffe last met Mr Johnson when he was foreign secretary in 2017. | Mr Radcliffe last met Mr Johnson when he was foreign secretary in 2017. |
| That meeting came shortly after Mr Johnson had to apologise after wrongly suggesting that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists at the time of her arrest. | That meeting came shortly after Mr Johnson had to apologise after wrongly suggesting that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists at the time of her arrest. |
| She has always maintained she was in Iran visiting relatives. | She has always maintained she was in Iran visiting relatives. |
| During Thursday's meeting, Mr Ratcliffe said he hoped to receive a credible sense from Mr Johnson that his wife's case is a priority for him. | During Thursday's meeting, Mr Ratcliffe said he hoped to receive a credible sense from Mr Johnson that his wife's case is a priority for him. |
| "I want to ask him to be brave," he told BBC Breakfast. | "I want to ask him to be brave," he told BBC Breakfast. |
| Mr Ratcliffe said the prime minister needed to de-escalate tensions between the UK and Iran, amid the "tense situation" in the region following the US killing of top military leader Qasem Soleimani. | Mr Ratcliffe said the prime minister needed to de-escalate tensions between the UK and Iran, amid the "tense situation" in the region following the US killing of top military leader Qasem Soleimani. |
| However, he added that the UK's "soft" response to his wife's case had "emboldened" Iran and the country needed to be "much tougher". | However, he added that the UK's "soft" response to his wife's case had "emboldened" Iran and the country needed to be "much tougher". |
| "My message to him will be you can't just wait for things to calm down, things are volatile inherently and they'll get worse unless you do something clear," Mr Ratcliffe added. | "My message to him will be you can't just wait for things to calm down, things are volatile inherently and they'll get worse unless you do something clear," Mr Ratcliffe added. |
| He has previously raised concerns that the recent escalation in tensions could make matters worse for his wife. | He has previously raised concerns that the recent escalation in tensions could make matters worse for his wife. |
| Ahead of the meeting, which the foreign secretary will also attend, the prime minister's spokesman said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's continued detention was "inhumane and unacceptable" and the UK continued to "take every opportunity" to raise her case with the Iranian government. | |
| Court case | Court case |
| The meeting comes as the Court of Appeal in London prepares to hear a case that can resolve a decade-long financial dispute between the UK and Iran. | The meeting comes as the Court of Appeal in London prepares to hear a case that can resolve a decade-long financial dispute between the UK and Iran. |
| The dispute is over the interest due on a debt owed by Britain to Tehran for an arms deal in the 1970s that was never fulfilled. | The dispute is over the interest due on a debt owed by Britain to Tehran for an arms deal in the 1970s that was never fulfilled. |
| Mr Ratcliffe said his wife is a chess piece in the dispute, which he calls a festering sore in relations between the two countries - and he plans to ask Mr Johnson how he will solve it. | Mr Ratcliffe said his wife is a chess piece in the dispute, which he calls a festering sore in relations between the two countries - and he plans to ask Mr Johnson how he will solve it. |
| Speaking in the Commons, the couple's MP, Labour's Tulip Siddiq, urged the government to settle the debt with Iran, accusing it of "unforgiveable" behaviour. | Speaking in the Commons, the couple's MP, Labour's Tulip Siddiq, urged the government to settle the debt with Iran, accusing it of "unforgiveable" behaviour. |
| However, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the issue was "extraordinarily difficult" because the government could not be seen to be paying money to allow the release of people who had been illegally detained. | However, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the issue was "extraordinarily difficult" because the government could not be seen to be paying money to allow the release of people who had been illegally detained. |
| "The risk that would cause to other Britons travelling abroad would be very considerable," he said. | "The risk that would cause to other Britons travelling abroad would be very considerable," he said. |
| "The law must take its course in relation to the money that was deposited here but it would be absolutely wrong to connect the two issues." | "The law must take its course in relation to the money that was deposited here but it would be absolutely wrong to connect the two issues." |
| Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, remains on medication for depression and on beta blockers - medicines which slow down the heart - for the panic attacks she's been suffering in jail, her husband said. | Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, remains on medication for depression and on beta blockers - medicines which slow down the heart - for the panic attacks she's been suffering in jail, her husband said. |
| The dual national has been detained since 2016, when she took her British-born daughter Gabriella to Iran to visit her parents. She was sentenced to five years in prison for spying. | The dual national has been detained since 2016, when she took her British-born daughter Gabriella to Iran to visit her parents. She was sentenced to five years in prison for spying. |
| Her family and the UK government has always maintained her innocence and she has been given diplomatic protection by the Foreign Office - meaning the case is treated as a formal, legal dispute between Britain and Iran. | Her family and the UK government has always maintained her innocence and she has been given diplomatic protection by the Foreign Office - meaning the case is treated as a formal, legal dispute between Britain and Iran. |
| While he was foreign secretary, Mr Johnson mistakenly said that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran training journalists when she was arrested. | While he was foreign secretary, Mr Johnson mistakenly said that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran training journalists when she was arrested. |
| Four days later Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to an unscheduled court hearing during which Mr Johnson's comments were cited as proof she was engaged in "propaganda against the regime". | Four days later Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to an unscheduled court hearing during which Mr Johnson's comments were cited as proof she was engaged in "propaganda against the regime". |