UK government urges Zaghari-Ratcliffe鈥檚 husband to stop speaking out

Boris Johnson meets with Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who is detained in Iran, at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, Britain, Nov. 15, 2017. (Reuters)
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  • Richard Ratcliffe: London should 鈥榠mpose a cost鈥� on Iranian 鈥榟ostage taking鈥�
  • Ministers concerned that Tehran could level new charges before her release

LONDON: The UK government has urged the husband of jailed British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to stop publicizing plans to free her on March 7 or risk jeopardizing her release.

But her husband Richard Ratcliffe tweeted that he rejects the government鈥檚 advice. 鈥淲e continue to believe that transparency is the best form of protection from abuse,鈥� he wrote.

鈥淲e have also made clear that the government鈥檚 role is to remind the Iranian authorities that Nazanin has the UK鈥檚 protection, not to act as a messenger for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) mafia tactics and suppression.鈥�

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, currently under house arrest in Tehran, is nearing the end of a five-year jail sentence on charges of espionage that she denies.

Last year the IRGC leveled new, undisclosed charges against her, but later pulled back following public and diplomatic pressure.

鈥淚f anything happens to Nazanin or her family or if she is not released to the UK on 7 March 鈥� there should be consequences,鈥� Ratcliffe tweeted.

鈥淲e will be discussing with the foreign secretary Dominic Raab his back-up plan. I don鈥檛 want there to be any doubt in the foreign secretary鈥檚 mind that we are approaching the time to make good on our conversations to impose a cost on hostage taking. My view is that if you won鈥檛 do it now, even when Nazanin is not released at the end of her sentence, then it is safe to presume that you never will,鈥� he added.

鈥淓ither she is home at the end of her sentence, or there are consequences. Anything else is just noise.鈥�

Ratcliffe and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) disagree over the best strategy for freeing her. 

He believes that speaking out and applying public pressure is the best way to encourage Tehran to release his wife, while the FCDO is concerned that publicly highlighting her release date could antagonize the regime and prompt new charges.

鈥淚 do think it was a remarkable lack of judgment by the FCDO to allow itself to be enrolled in passing on IRGC threats to the family, and say it would be the fault of our campaigning around Nazanin鈥檚 release date if something happened to Nazanin or her family,鈥� Ratcliffe wrote, adding that he had repeatedly been told by FCDO ministers to be quiet. 

鈥淭he IRGC have an infinite capacity to spot weakness and an opportunity to manipulate 鈥� it is why the UK鈥檚 weakness on diplomatic protection is so genuinely ill advised. They sniff out every opportunity, unless you push back immediately.鈥�

An FCDO spokesperson said in a statement: 鈥淭he foreign secretary and FCDO remain in close contact with both Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, and continue to provide our support.

鈥淲e do not accept Iran detaining dual British nationals as diplomatic leverage. The regime must end its arbitrary detention of all dual British nationals.

鈥淲e continue to do everything we can to secure the release of all dual British nationals so that they can be reunited with their loved ones.鈥�