Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Campaigners Urge UN Torture Investigation Into Jailed Mother’s Captivity<\/b>
\nThe UN is being urged to investigate the case of jailed British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe whose 22-month imprisonment in Iran \u201camounts to torture\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nazanin is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government, having been arrested in the country while on holiday with her daughter in April 2016.<\/p>\n
Nazanin\u2019s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said on Wednesday:\u00a0\u201cI think we have passed the threshold where Nazanin\u2019s treatment is torture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese ongoing games remain a kind of psychological torture of continual ups and downs, and pressures impacting on Nazanin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Submissions made by charity Redress, on behalf of the Free Nazanin campaign, detail for the first time the \u201cexceptionally harsh treatment inflicted\u201d on the 39-year-old,\u00a0including \u201cconditions of solitary confinement, the psychological pressures in the arbitrary detention and court proceedings, and her use as a tool of pressure in wider diplomatic affairs\u201d.<\/p>\n
The UN is being asked to request information from Iran on Nazanin\u2019s treatment; to request the country cease \u201cany torture and ill-treatment immediately\u201d and to investigate the allegations with a view to prosecute those responsible. It also asks that the UN press the UK Government to \u201censure that it is taking any necessary steps to fulfill its obligations to protect British citizens from torture and ill-treatment\u201d.<\/p>\n
The submission was delayed as Nazanin\u2019s family had been \u201cled to believe\u201d she would be freed, on temporary release, in time for Iranian Independence Day on 11 February.<\/p>\n
Independence Day is typically a day when prisoners are released in Iran, Redress said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless urgent action is taken now, the appalling treatment that Nazanin has suffered at the hands of Iranian authorities is likely to continue, with the devastating consequences that we have already seen on her physical and mental health,\u201d\u00a0said Rupert Skilbeck, director of Redress.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment in this case demand a closer and urgent examination from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being placed for eight and half months in solitary confinement, \u201csuffering inhumane conditions\u201d in a cell measuring 1.5 x 2 square meters with no window, natural air or light, has had an\u00a0\u201cextremely severe impact\u201d on Nazanin, Redress said.<\/p>\n
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has previously considered that solitary confinement amounts to torture or ill-treatment if lasting more than 15 days, the charity noted.<\/p>\n
Redress said of Nazanin\u2019s condition:\u00a0 \u201cNazanin has suffered from blackouts, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, difficulty walking and moving her arms and hands, and suicidal tendencies. \u201cShe continues to report darkly negative feelings, uncontrollable bouts of anger and sometimes feeling numb, unable to join in laughter or conversation. She struggles to be in company and to put on any weight, after having suffered severe weight loss during her detention.\u201d
\nRedress said it put \u201cparticular emphasis\u201d in the submission on the\u00a0\u201cmaximum psychological pressure\u201d that Iranian authorities have exerted on Nazanin with the purpose \u201cto demoralise her and put her in a situation of complete powerlessness\u201d.<\/p>\n
The submission states that\u00a0Nazanin\u2019s treatment \u201cis based on discrimination against her for being a British citizen\u201d, and Redress claims, the aim of it is to\u00a0 force her into a confession and coerce the British government into negotiating a deal for her release.<\/p>\n
Announcing the move, the Free Nazanin campaign detailed how \u201cpsychological games remain ongoing\u201d with the judiciary with her family being told in January that she would \u201clikely soon be released\u201d, and then again last week, that the case against her was closed, yet, \u201cthere is no release date\u201d.<\/p>\n
Richard Ratcliffe had hoped his wife would be\u00a0released on Boxing Day last year, after a judicial database listed Nazanin as being eligible for early release.<\/p>\n
Those hopes came after fears that the mother-of-one\u2019s sentence would be doubled after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson\u00a0falsely claimed she was in Tehran training journalists.<\/p>\n
Later this month Iran\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be travelling to London and Ratcliffe has requested a meeting to demand his wife\u2019s release.<\/p>\n
The UN submissions key claims are:\u00a0 \u2022 The level of psychological abuse in Nazanin\u2019s case meets the UN criteria\u00a0of torture, particularly given her vulnerability as a mother of a young child. \u2022 Her abuse involves the coordinated interaction of a variety of Iranian state agencies. It is not just due to the pressures and manipulations of her\u00a0interrogators, or the poor conditions of her detention. Her abuse has been\u00a0coordinated with the use of the court system to arbitrarily invent and close\u00a0new court cases; the state TV news to spread false and abusive information\u00a0about her; and even the consular services to assert the authorities\u2019 control\u00a0over her daughter and access to her family. It constitutes torture because the whole armoury of the state is used to maximise psychological pressure. \u2022 The purpose of this abuse to exert political pressure. Nazanin is held as a\u00a0bargaining chip in ongoing political battles that have nothing to do with us.\u00a0Court proceedings against Nazanin, propaganda against her, promises of\u00a0release or even temporary release, are used as an extension of domestic and diplomatic pressure. All these games in Nazanin\u2019s case are used by the\u00a0Iranian authorities to put pressure on others through Nazanin.
\nThe submission, the Free Nazanin campaign said, had been prompted by a number of factors, such as the second court case,\u00a0her health and the \u201cpromises and games\u201d being played by the Judiciary.<\/p>\n
Redress said these included threats that Nazanin\u2019s daughter,\u00a0Gabriella \u2013 who is staying with her grandparents in Iran and currently visits her mother twice a week \u2013 would be sent back to the United Kingdom, \u201cand that she would not see her daughter again\u201d. <\/p>\n
The call<\/a> for an urgent intervention from the UN expert on torture comes at a \u201cmoment when there has been a deterioration in the situation of a number of dual nationals in Iran\u201d, Redress said.<\/p>\n It cited the cases of Canadian-Iranian professor Kavous Seyed Emami, who died in prison on 9 February 2018, after being in detention for 17 days, and 81-year-old US-Iranian citizen Baquer Namazi, who was brought back to prison on 6 February 2018, less than two weeks after he had been granted temporary leave because of potentially fatal heart problems.<\/p>\n Richard Ratcliffe\u2019s full statement:\u00a0 \u201cI think we have passed the threshold where Nazanin\u2019s treatment is torture. These ongoing games remain a kind of psychological torture of continual ups and downs, and pressures impacting on Nazanin. I have asked the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to follow up on Nazanin\u2019s case with both governments, to respect their obligations to protect Nazanin, and to find a way to bring her home.\u201d \u201cI would like to meet the Iranian Minister when he comes to the UK to ask how he plans to bring this torture to an end? What is blocking her release now she is eligible? Now that the Judiciary have approved?\u201d \u201cI have requested to meet the Deputy Foreign Minister. I have even invited him to Nazanin\u2019s, Gabriella\u2019s and my house. I have spent a long time criticising the Iranian government \u2013 but it is important to give them a chance to explain: how they are planning to bring her home. It is a point of basic respect \u2013 that I offer him the chance to see Nazanin\u2019s home and the pictures of her and Gabriella on the wall, to affirm that Iran\u2019s government protects its citizens.\u201d \u201cThe question Nazanin asks: If the Judiciary is independent, as President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif have told the world repeatedly, now the case has been closed by the Judiciary and IRGC, and in the hands of the MFA \u2013 why is Nazanin still in prison? What is the MFA holding on for? I promised Nazanin that is the question I will ask the Minister, and request journalists ask on our behalf.\u201d \u201cAt Christmas it felt we were so close to a release. That is what we were told to look out for on December 28, that is what the computer said. It is what it still says now. So it is not clear why the conversation moved back to one about furlough. That is where we were back in August. Talk of temporary release feels far less than the situation merits. Now she is eligible for release. Not just a holiday from prison, but time to come home. But in truth anything that gets her out of prison this Valentines can only be a good thing.\u201d \u201cThree months ago the Foreign Secretary promised he would leave no stone unturned. It is almost two months since his trip to Iran. It is more than one month since our Christmas hopes did not come to pass. We can\u2019t keep waiting in the doorway of our dreams, waiting for the governments to deliver. So that is why we have resumed campaigning. That is why we have requested to meet the visiting Minister.\u201d \u201cNazanin asked me to extend her deepest sympathy to all the new prisoners and the families of those recently arrested, but particularly the family of Prof. Seyed-Emami. They remain in her prayers, and the prayers of the women<\/a>\u2019s ward.\u201d Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Campaigners Urge UN Torture Investigation Into Jailed Mother’s Captivity The UN is being urged to investigate the case of jailed British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe whose 22-month imprisonment in Iran \u201camounts to torture\u201d. Nazanin is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government, having been arrested … Continue reading Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Campaigners Urge UN Torture Investigation Into Jailed Mother’s Captivity<\/span>
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\nwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe_uk_5a82f56be4b0892a035342bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"