REDRESS response to the Foreign Secretary’s statement in the Commons on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case REDRESS

“We welcome the correction issued by the Foreign Secretary today and his clarification that Nazanin was purely on holiday in Iran when she was arrested. There is no basis to justify her arrest or continued imprisonment and the extreme pain and suffering she has been subjected to either under Iranian or international law, as UN experts and independent legal opinions have confirmed. She has simply been targeted for being a dual British-Iranian citizen.”

“It is unfortunate that it has taken the devastating effect of such careless remarks to finally put
Nazanin’s case at the top of the Foreign Secretary’s agenda.”

“We are pleased that Boris Johnson has confirmed that he will visit Iran during the next weeks, but he must use this opportunity to insist on Nazanin’s release and on visiting her in prison.”Carla Ferstman, Director of REDRESS

Notes to editors

REDRESS is an international human rights organisation based in London and in The Hague which seeks justice and reparation for survivors of torture and related international times.

REDRESS has been working with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe since May 2016 to secure her release. REDRESS brought Nazanin’s case before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in June 2016.

The Working Group found in September 2016 that her detention was arbitrary and that she had been targeted for being a dual British-Iranian citizen. The findings of the Working Group are available here.

REDRESS has also sent a legal opinion to the Foreign Office, prepared by two leading British legal chambers, which confirmed the findings of the UN experts. The legal opinion is available here.