Be brave dealing with Iran, Nazanin’s husband tells Boris Johnson

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella, before her arrest in 2016
PA

The husband of jailed mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told Boris Johnson he must be “brave” in dealings with Iran as he took his battle for her release to Downing Street.

The Prime Minister was meeting Richard Ratcliffe and his daughter Gabriella to discuss next steps in securing his wife’s freedom.

The British-Iranian charity worker, 42, has been jailed in Tehran for almost four years on charges of spying which are vehemently denied.

Mr Ratcliffe said today that he would hold the PM to a promise he made in 2017, as foreign secretary, to “leave no stone unturned”.

AFP via Getty Images

He told Sky News: “I’ll be going there partly to ask him what’s his plan and how does he plan on getting Nazanin home, getting the others home. How does he plan to de-escalate things?

“Then looking to ask him to be brave both in terms of building a relationship with Iran.

"And signalling really clearly you cannot keep taking innocent people to use as leverage.

"We are just an ordinary family looking for our Prime Minister to protect us.”

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