Azanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has questioned why she spent six years in Iranian detention when she spoke publicly for the first time since her arrival in the UK.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was reunited with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella on Friday morning after their release, after which the UK pledged almost £ 400 million in debt to Iran.
In an enthusiastic statement during a press conference on Monday, she criticized former foreign ministers for their lack of action to secure their return to the UK.
Even though her husband praised Liz Truss for bringing his wife back home, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, said her release “should have happened six years ago”.
“I give what Richard said to thank the Secretary of State, I do not really agree with him on that level.
“I have seen five foreign ministers change over the course of six years. That is infinite according to British policy.
“I love you, Richard. I respect you but I got told many, many times that ‘oh, we’ll get you home’. That never happened.
Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her local MP, Tulip Siddiq
/ Sky News“So there was a time when I felt, you know what, I will not trust you, because I have said many, many times that I should be taken home.
“But that never happened. I mean, how many former secretaries does it take to get one out? Five? It should have been one.”
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said her family went through a difficult journey and that there was a lot to invent after she had been away for so long.
Speaking of her experience, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: “It will always haunt me. There will be no other way around. It will be with me.”
She said it was “very difficult” for her to talk about what she was going through.
The mother of one said she was told early on that it was something Iran wanted from Britain and that they would not be released until they got what they wanted.
“So, I did not know the details at that time. But I think it was the two weeks or week three that I was arrested, like six years ago, that they told me ‘We want something from the British. We will not let you go until we get it ‘.
“And they kept their promise.”
‘Nazanin calm and composed, even when asked to relive some of the most difficult memories’
David Bond at Portcullis House
Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s great joy and relief at what she described as her “glorious” moment was evident to everyone in the room.
She laughed throughout the press conference and remained remarkably calm and composed, even when asked to relive some of the most difficult memories of her time in prison.
The questions that arose in what she called “the black laugh” of her time in Iran were dismissed with the most charming laughs.
When she was nervous about meeting the media or her “rumor” she did not show it while she was talking, she kept her hand on her husband Richard’s leg for support. In contrast, Richard tried to calm her down by stroking her hand.
After entering the packed committee room at Parliament Portcullis House, led by her local MP Tulip Siddiq, her daughter Gabriella was shown to a seat in the front row. She was playing on an iPhone while her parents were talking to the media.
At the end, as the family left the room, she ran to her father Richard, who gently planted a kiss on the forehead.
Starting with the press conference at Portcullis House, Tulip Siddiq, Labor MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said she had called on the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee to look into her challenge and in particular why Britain’s debt to Iran for military equipment could not be resolved. ginn. earlier.
Ms Siddiq said she had called for an inquiry into the delay by Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe
/ Sky News“I think the Nazanine could have been at home a long time ago if we had paid off the historic debt of £ 400 million in advance,” Ms Siddiq said.
“Therefore, I feel I owe it to my constituent Nazanin to request a review of the handling of her case. I am writing to Tom Tugendhat, Chairman of the Nomination Committee, to request an inquiry into Nazanin’s case Question of Iran’s hostage-taking.
Mr Ratcliffe also agreed with his local MPs, saying a review of the inquiry would be useful at this time.
He added, however, that the review by Parliament should not be done over lawyers, but was ultimately grateful to have his wife back.
With his wife now back, Mr Ratcliffe said he was “looking forward to retiring” as a campaign for his wife after such a long time apart.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – A Biller
“We’re still negotiating whether Dad’s allowed to sleep in the same bed as Gabriella and Nazanin but we’ll get there,” Mr Ratcliffe joked.
“But this is my retirement day, and I’m glad it came.”
Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested while her parents were visiting Iran in April 2016 and accused of plotting to assassinate the Iranian government.
She received a five-year sentence in September 2016 and in April last year another year on charges of propaganda against the government.
She has always denied the charges against her.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe called for an end to the liability of other dual citizens still held in Iran, saying without her release “the meaning of freedom will never be complete”.
British National fellow Anoosheh Ashoori returned to the UK last week after being arrested in Iran.
A second man, Morad Tahbaz, who has UK and US citizenship, has been released from prison but is not allowed to leave Iran yet. His daughter was at the press conference.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe told reporters: “I believe that the meaning of freedom will never be complete, so that all of us who have been wrongfully detained in Iran are reunited with our families.
“To begin with Morad, but also the other dual nationalities, members of religious groups, or prisoners of conscience who … I think we realize that when I’m 6 years in prison, there are so many other people we know her Do not name those who suffered imprisonment in Iran.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at Imam Khomeini Airport on April 3, 2016 after a holiday visit with Gabriella to her parents, thanked the people who campaigned for her release, saying that she ” powerless “in prison.
Speaking with her family at RAF Brize Norton on Thursday morning, she said “that moment was precious”.
“I waited so long for that moment, and I was overwhelmed, especially to get to know Gabriella and Richard after such a long time.
“It was a very, very emotional moment.”
Add Comment