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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: court ruling on £400m tank debt could aid release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe makes tearful appeal to be released from Iran jail
(about 5 hours later)
A court hearing in London over a £400m debt owed by the UK government to Iran could help decide the fate of the Iranian-British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, imprisoned in Evin jail in Tehran for the last four years. The British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has made a tearful personal appeal to be released from jail, breaking down as she entered an appeal hearing and pleading with the Iranian authorities to release her after three-and-a-half years in jail for espionage charges she denies.
Mr Justice Phillips is being asked in the high court to settle the precise amount the UK should pay to the Iranians for a broken arms contract stretching back 40 years. Her husband, Richard, said Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s legs “went completely numb as she was taken into the room – she fell just outside the door, and had to be sat down on the steps to recover. She also had to be helped into the room by prison guards due to her stress.”
The court is due to decide the full amount, including any interest, that the UK must pay the Iranians for a £400m-plus debt the UK acknowledges it owes for the UK’s non-delivery of Chieftain tanks Tehran ordered from the UK before the fall of the Shah in 1979. At the hearing before the Iranian health commission she complained she had been deprived of her medication, sometimes kept in solitary confinement and was suffering from severe anxiety.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the UK’s Ministry of Defence, International Military Services, has disputed the amount of interest owed, and there have been issues about the entity to which the UK can send the money without breaching international sanctions against Iran. The commissioners countered that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had at some points been deemed to be at risk of self harm so could not be given medication.
The account of her hearing comes from British sources, and cannot be independently verified. The account also comes as two Australians were released from jail in Tehran in a prisoner swap, and the Iranian foreign ministers Javad Zarif claimed two detained Iranians were being released by the US.
She told the commissioners the explanation for the deprivation of medicines was nonsense, because some of the prescribed medicines had not been provided at all, and if she ever wanted to self-harm, she could have used other means.
She also said it would be torture to be separated from her baby Gabriella. Her five-year-old daughter is due to return to London this Autumn to start school, and be cared for by Nazanin’s husband Richard. In a letter smuggled out of her prison cell last week she wrote of her desperation at the prospect of her daughter’s departure. She has been living in Tehran with her grandmother and been afforded weekly visits.
At the hearing the commissioners claimed she had discharged herself from hospital when sent to the psychiatric ward in July. Nazanin replied that she had been kept in chains, and in isolation – that was no way to treat someone with anxiety. After returning to her cell she was reportedly in tears for an hour.
She has been given no indication of when the Iranian judiciary will decide on her appeal to be released.
The Tehran hearing came as Iran failed to win the UK high court’s permission to appeal against a judgment debarring it from claiming up to £20m interest from the UK government over an unpaid £400m debt.
The debt, or court award, arises the non-delivery of contracts to the Iranian ministry of defence (Modsaf) of Chieftain tanks dating back to before 1979. The UK refused to complete the contract after the Shah was deposed, even though Iran had paid the money.
Justice Phillips ruled Iran had no serious chance of succeeding at appeal on the question of a right to interest on the debt since the body to which the award is payable has been a EU sanctioned entity since 2008.
The ruling is a reverse for Iran in its marathon court battle to enforce an international court order dating back to 2012 awarding Iran £400m over the UK’s government’s non-completion of the contract to provide Iran with Chieftain tanks.
Court ruling over tanks debt deals new blow to UK-Iran relations
The UK has put nearly £500m into court as a surety for the award, but insists that it cannot make the payment let alone pay any interest accrued since 2008 on the grounds that Modsaf is sanctioned entity.
The case affects UK bilateral relations, and despite denials by both the British and Iranian governments is seen as a possible barrier to the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian national imprisoned in Tehran for four years on espionage charges. Her plight was not mentioned in yesterday’s hearing seeking permission to appeal.
Iran has two major routes left to unlock the cash put into court by the UK. The first is a request to the Treasury’s Office of Sanctions Implementation to accept voluntarily that the £400m can be paid to the Central Bank of Iran and not to Modsaf. The Central Bank is not an EU sanctioned entity.
Iran lodged its appeal in writing two years ago, but no ruling has emerged from the OFSI.
In addition Iran is due to seek a UK court judgement in a case set for March directing the UK to pay the £400m award into the coffers of the Central Bank. Lawyers for the UK government in court made clear to Justice Phillips that they will resist any requirement to pay the money to the Central Bank either in cash or kind since the ultimate beneficiary will in effect be Modsaf, a sanctioned entity.
In theory the UK would be free after Brexit to change the list of bodies it sanctions, rather than simply duplicate EU decisions, but there is no sign that ministers will make any change to the Iranian sanctions regime.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella.
Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release.Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release.
She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret.She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment.
Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction.Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction.
Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family.Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family.
Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”.Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”.
New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home."New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home."
She is granted a temporary three-day release from prison.She is granted a temporary three-day release from prison.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care.Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care.
The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection – a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection – a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.
The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.
Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she begins a third hunger strike protest in prison.Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she begins a third hunger strike protest in prison.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends her hunger strike by eating some breakfast. Her husband also ends his strike outside the embassy.Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends her hunger strike by eating some breakfast. Her husband also ends his strike outside the embassy.
According to her husband, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was moved from Evin prison to the mental ward of Imam Khomeini hospital, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have prevented relatives from contacting her.According to her husband, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was moved from Evin prison to the mental ward of Imam Khomeini hospital, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have prevented relatives from contacting her.
It is announced that Zaghari-Ratcliffe's daughter Gabriella, who has lived with her grnadparents in Tehran and regularly visited her mother in jail, will be back in London before Christmas in order to start school.It is announced that Zaghari-Ratcliffe's daughter Gabriella, who has lived with her grnadparents in Tehran and regularly visited her mother in jail, will be back in London before Christmas in order to start school.
Neither the Iranians nor the British acknowledge there is a link between Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s fate and the non-payment of the outstanding debt. But in practice, figures such as Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary, and Mohammad Javid Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, have in different ways said the Iranians do see a link between the two cases.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is still waiting to hear the outcome of her appeal to an Iranian health commission that she be released from jail on grounds of mental ill-health. She denies all espionage charges, but her supporters have pleaded with Iran to give her clemency given her mental state.
Meanwhile, Zaghari-Ratcliffe has questioned why she remains incarcerated in Iran after Australia secured the release of two citizens from the country, her husband has disclosed.
Jolie King, a British-Australian building designer, and her boyfriend, Mark Firkin, a construction manager, were allowed to return home last week, three months after being arrested.
The couple, who had been blogging on their travels across Asia, were arrested on spying charges after flying a drone near a military base, Iranian officials said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe befriended King after the two were housed in the same area of Tehran’s Evin prison.
King and Firkin’s release, which came before the pair faced a court hearing, was secured as Australia returned the scientist Reza Dehbashi to Iran having been detained for 13 months over the purchase of a defence system from the US.
While pleased to hear of the couple’s return to Australia, Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, has questioned why British officials have not yet secured her release, according to her husband, Richard Ratcliffe.
“I told Nazanin and she was very pleased that Jolie was released,” he told the Times. “Obviously for Nazanin it is also bittersweet. While there is no queue for cases like this, she did ask how come the Australians can solve their hostage cases in a couple of months while the UK has taken over three and a half years. I had no answer.”
Marise Payne, the Australian foreign affairs minister, said the release of King and Firkin had come after “very sensitive” negotiations between the two countries’ governments.
Iran’s foreign minister said last month that Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s fate was connected to a historic debt Britain owed Iran over a decades-old weapons deal.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband decided last week their five-year-old daughter, Gabriella, would be returned to the UK, having been in Tehran since her mother’s arrest in 2016. In a letter, she said the separation from her child would leave her a “desolate mother ready to burn like a desert dune”.
Meanwhile, another British-Australian woman, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, remained in Evin prison, where she has been for almost a year. Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated, Melbourne-based academic specialising in Islamic and Middle East studies, has reportedly been handed a 10-year sentence, also on a charge of espionage.
Australian officials are still working to secure her release.
Nazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
IranIran
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