Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s prison release extended

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s temporary release from an Iranian jail has been extended by a month, according to her MP.

The British-Iranian mother has been freed from Evin prison in Tehran in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tulip Siddiq tweeted on Tuesday morning: “Very happy to hear from Richard Ratcliffe that Nazanin’s furlough has been extended for a month – in line with other prisoners in Iran.”

The Labour MP added: “Now is the time for our government to do all it can to make it permanent.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been due to return to prison over the weekend, but her family was then told to return to the Prosecutor’s Office today.

She was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to 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.