Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s six-year imprisonment in Iran made her an icon of the fight against tyranny across the globe. She joins us to share her story.
In March 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was boarding a plane to Britain after a brief holiday in Iran when she was arrested with no explanation and her baby daughter’s passport confiscated. Six months later she was convicted of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, an accusation she denied all along her time in prison.
Over six years, Nazanin became a political bargaining chip, with four foreign secretaries failing to secure her release -- including Boris Johnson, whose public mischaracterisation of her work was cited by the regime as evidence against her -- until a fifth, Liz Truss, finally secured Nazanin’s freedom by settling an outstanding government debt.
Nazanin endured months of solitary confinement, was convicted in further show trials; and undertook a fifteen-day hunger strike in protest at being denied medical care. Yes, upon her release and whilst she was waiting to be boarded, she was forced to sign a false confession. From the UK her husband Richard campaigned relentlessly for her release, joining Nazanin’s hunger strike and later undertaking another in front of the Foreign Office in an attempt to prompt the British government to increase its efforts to secure her freedom.
As the US-Iran war dominates headlines and causes global turmoil, Nazanin joins us live in conversation to share her story and reflect on her ongoing fight to secure the freedom of political hostages from Iran and elsewhere.