{"id":93414,"date":"2021-03-09T06:41:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=93414"},"modified":"2021-03-09T06:41:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:41:02","slug":"british-iranian-aid-worker-ends-house-arrest-in-iran-but-faces-new-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2021\/03\/09\/british-iranian-aid-worker-ends-house-arrest-in-iran-but-faces-new-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"British-Iranian aid worker ends house arrest in Iran but faces new trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"t-content__chapo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93415 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin.jpg 600w, https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-24x16.jpg 24w, https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-36x24.jpg 36w, https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Free-Nazanin-48x32.jpg 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>RFI \u2014 British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, jailed in Tehran for five years on spying charges, has completed her sentence. But her lawyer says she faces a new trial and cannot yet return home to London. Iran continues to hold French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, and another Frenchman detained without trial.<\/p>\n<div class=\"t-content__body u-clearfix\" data-empty-p=\"true\">\n<div class=\"m-interstitial\">\n<div class=\"m-interstitial__ad\" data-readmore-target=\"\">\n<div class=\"m-block-ad \" data-tms-ad-type=\"box\" data-tms-ad-status=\"resized\" data-tms-ad-pos=\"1\" data-tms-ad-provider=\"dfp\" data-tms-ad-owner=\"fmm\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe completed her full sentence and was allowed to remove her ankle monitor and leave house arrest, but her future remains uncertain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"em-WBMZ23797-RFI-EN-20210308\" class=\"m-em-flash\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=madeyang&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1368604537137795082&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rfi.fr%2Fen%2Finternational%2F20210308-british-iranian-aid-worker-zaghari-ratcliffe-ends-house-arrest-in-iran-but-faces-new-trial-jcpoa-france-us-nuclear-deal&amp;siteScreenName=RFI_En&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1368604537137795082\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt feels to me like they have made one blockage just as they have removed another, and we very clearly remain in the middle of this government game of chess,\u201d her husband Richard Ratcliffe said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>New court appearance<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Iranian state-run Mehr News Agency <a href=\"https:\/\/en.mehrnews.com\/news\/170812\/Nazanin-Zaghari-Ratcliffe-released\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> that Zaghari-Ratcliffe&#8217;s would &#8220;face a new court date for new charges on March 14 due to her activities against the Iranian Establishment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Her family, human rights organisations and politicians have demanded her immediate release.<\/p>\n<div id=\"em-WBMZ23801-RFI-EN-20210308\" class=\"m-em-flash\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=madeyang&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1368486584878854144&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rfi.fr%2Fen%2Finternational%2F20210308-british-iranian-aid-worker-zaghari-ratcliffe-ends-house-arrest-in-iran-but-faces-new-trial-jcpoa-france-us-nuclear-deal&amp;siteScreenName=RFI_En&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1368486584878854144\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Authorities released her on furlough last March due to surging coronavirus pandemic, and she has remained in detention at her parent&#8217;s home in Tehran since.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, was sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran\u2019s government, a charge she vigorously denies.<\/p>\n<p>Mehr\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.mehrnews.com\/news\/170812\/Nazanin-Zaghari-Ratcliffe-released\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">says<\/a>\u00a0she was arrested for running &#8220;an illegal course to recruit and train people for the Persian service of the BBC, which is a major party to\u00a0the &#8216;soft war&#8217;\u00a0being waged by the West against\u00a0Tehran, according to Iranian officials&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-image\">\n<figure class=\"m-figure m-figure--original\">\n<div class=\"m-figure__img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-figure__img\" src=\"https:\/\/s.rfi.fr\/media\/display\/749a2a04-f275-11ea-b4e8-005056a98db9\/888ecbbf718b1853e564a5c461531aec6f7e20ca_1.webp\" alt=\"Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her daughter in 2018 has been on temporary release from Evin prison in Tehran and under house arrest since earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic\" data-image-dataset=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/s.rfi.fr\\\/media\\\/display\\\/749a2a04-f275-11ea-b4e8-005056a98db9\\\/&quot;,&quot;filename&quot;:&quot;888ecbbf718b1853e564a5c461531aec6f7e20ca_1.jpg&quot;,&quot;ratio&quot;:null,&quot;displayFormat&quot;:&quot;original&quot;}\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"m-figure__caption\"><span class=\"m-figure__caption__legend\">Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her daughter in 2018 has been on temporary release from Evin prison in Tehran and under house arrest since earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic<\/span> <span class=\"m-figure__caption__credits\">Free Nazanin campaign\/AFP\/File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2016, the aid worker was taken into custody at the airport with her toddler daughter after visiting family on holiday in Tehran. At the time, she was working for Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations has described her arrest as arbitrary, and reported that her treatment, including stints in solitary confinement and deprivation of medical care, could amount to torture.<\/p>\n<h2>French nationals detained<\/h2>\n<p>In March last year, two French academics held in Iran went on trial,\u00a0accused of plotting &#8220;acts against national security&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>French-Iranian Fariba Adelkhah and Frenchman Roland Marchal,\u00a0both researchers at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/a-propos-fariba-adelkhah-roland-marchal-ce-que-on-sait\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sciences Po<\/a>\u00a0University in Paris, were detained by the Islamic republic in June 2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-image\">\n<figure class=\"m-figure m-figure--original\">\n<div class=\"m-figure__img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-figure__img\" src=\"https:\/\/s.rfi.fr\/media\/display\/ea9a844e-059c-11eb-b94d-005056a98db9\/9b42f85f4d7fae45bcbaa08ff57af0e1a836e1a9_4.webp\" alt=\"French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has been temporarily released from prison and is currently in Tehran, her lawyer said Saturday\" data-image-dataset=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/s.rfi.fr\\\/media\\\/display\\\/ea9a844e-059c-11eb-b94d-005056a98db9\\\/&quot;,&quot;filename&quot;:&quot;9b42f85f4d7fae45bcbaa08ff57af0e1a836e1a9_4.jpg&quot;,&quot;ratio&quot;:null,&quot;displayFormat&quot;:&quot;original&quot;}\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"m-figure__caption\"><span class=\"m-figure__caption__legend\">French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah has been temporarily released from prison and is currently in Tehran, her lawyer said Saturday<\/span> <span class=\"m-figure__caption__credits\">Sciences Po\/AFP\/File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Marchal was eventually freed on 20 March 2020 but Adelkhah\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencespo.fr\/en\/facts-about-fariba-adelkhah-roland-marchal-what-we-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was sentenced to 6 years<\/a>, an outcome &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.diplomatie.gouv.fr\/en\/country-files\/iran\/news\/article\/situation-of-fariba-adelkhah-statement-by-m-jean-yves-le-drian-minister-for\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">utterly condemned<\/a>&#8221; by the French government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a speech on 24 February for the UN Human Rights Council, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presstv.com\/Detail\/2021\/02\/25\/646070\/Iran-hits-back-at-France-over-role-Yemen-carnage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reiterated <\/a>France&#8217;s demand that Adelkhah be liberated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Mini helicopter<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Last week, France also confirmed that Iran has been keeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/en\/international\/20210225-france-confirms-iran-has-been-holding-tourist-since-may-2020\" target=\"_self\">a French tourist<\/a> in detention for nine months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The man was only\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/monde\/un-francais-emprisonne-illegalement-en-iran-24-02-2021-2415371_24.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">identified<\/a>\u00a0by his name, Benjamin. He had entered Iran on a tourist visa, after driving all the way from France in a van. He was arrested in May 2020 in northeastern Iran near the border with Turkmenistan, when, according to his lawyer, he was operating a remote-controlled mini helicopter, or helicam, used to take nature photos.<\/p>\n<p>RFI&#8217;s correspondent in Tehran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/fr\/moyen-orient\/20210224-iran-paris-confirme-la-d\u00e9tention-d-un-fran\u00e7ais\" target=\"_self\">says<\/a>\u00a0there are many military bases along the road from Tehran to Machhad in the northeast, including ballistic missile sites.<\/p>\n<p>The man is being held in Vakilabad prison in Machhad\u00a0and has reportedly had visits from consular officials. He has been able to communicate with his family in France a number of times since he was detained.<\/p>\n<h2>Nuclear talks<\/h2>\n<p>The UK and France, along with Germany, make up the so-called &#8220;E3&#8221;,\u00a0the European signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, or\u00a0JCPOA, aimed at limiting Iran&#8217;s nuclear programme. They have been\u00a0working to salvage the international accord after the\u00a0hardline politics of former US president Donald Trump, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/08\/us\/politics\/trump-speech-iran-deal.html?action=click&amp;module=Intentional&amp;pgtype=Article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unilaterally<\/a>\u00a0walked away in May 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With the new US administration of Joe Biden, talks to revive the pact are showing signs of advancing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Iran recently set free four imprisoned\u00a0Iranian-Americans, including Washington Post\u00a0reporter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/20190128-interview-jason-rezaian-prisoner-iran-evin-prison-washington-post-obama-zarif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jason Rezaian<\/a>, who was convicted of espionage\u00a0hours before the official announcement of the activation of JCPOA on 16 January 2016.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-image\">\n<figure class=\"m-figure m-figure--original\">\n<div class=\"m-figure__img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-figure__img\" src=\"https:\/\/s.rfi.fr\/media\/display\/059b3346-0f68-11ea-86cb-005056bff430\/6abeaa65e89ccb61a099c9a3316a09944d202aa0_0.webp\" alt=\"Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in an Iranian prison before he was released in January 2016 in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United States\" data-image-dataset=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/s.rfi.fr\\\/media\\\/display\\\/059b3346-0f68-11ea-86cb-005056bff430\\\/&quot;,&quot;filename&quot;:&quot;6abeaa65e89ccb61a099c9a3316a09944d202aa0_0.jpg&quot;,&quot;ratio&quot;:null,&quot;displayFormat&quot;:&quot;original&quot;}\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"m-figure__caption\"><span class=\"m-figure__caption__legend\">Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in an Iranian prison before he was released in January 2016 in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United States<\/span> <span class=\"m-figure__caption__credits\">AFP\/File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Iran denies any link between international deals and the release of prisoners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RFI \u2014 British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, jailed in Tehran for five years on spying charges, has completed her sentence. But her lawyer says she faces a new trial and cannot yet return home to London. Iran continues to hold French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, and another Frenchman detained without trial. \u00a0 Zaghari-Ratcliffe completed her full [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latests"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93414"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93417,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93414\/revisions\/93417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}