Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s temporary prison release 'extended again', says her MP

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s temporary release from a Tehran prison has been extended again, according to her MP.

The British-Iranian mother-of-one was freed from Evin prison in on March 17 as Iran responded to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq tweeted on Wednesday morning: “Nazanin’s furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today”.

The Hampstead and Kilburn MP said the uncertainty was causing Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family “unimaginable stress,” adding: “The Government must step up efforts to make sure her furlough is made permanent.”

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been staying at her parent’s house since her release, and her husband Richard Ratcliffe said in April she had been in regular contact over Skype with their five-year-old daughter Gabriella, who now lives with him in the UK.

He told BBC Radio 5Live: “It’s funny how quickly that almost becomes normal again, seeing her on a Skype screen and being able to talk to her late at night and early in the morning. It’s lovely.”

He added: “Gabriella was a bit disorientated when Nazanin first came out as to why she hadn’t come to the UK – why had she not come to our house but gone to granny’s house (in Iran).”

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport while taking her young daughter to see her parents in April 2016.

The mother-of-one was sentenced to five years in prison, accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, which she denies.

She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.