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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is 'being considered for clemency' in Iran as prison leave extended amid coronavirus ciris

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sent to Imam Khomeini hospital after a lengthy hunger strike: PA
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sent to Imam Khomeini hospital after a lengthy hunger strike: PA

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being considered for clemency by Iranian prosecutors as her prison leave is extended, her husband has said.

The British-Iranian mother was among thousands of prisoners temporarily freed from jail by the government in Tehran because of the coronavirus pandemic.

She is in relative isolation at her parents’ house in Tehran while the country gets to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was convicted of espionage charges - which she and the UK denied – and sent to Iranian prison for five years in 2016.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Britsh-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, who has had her leave from prison extended by two weeks, according to her husband. (PA)
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Britsh-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, who has had her leave from prison extended by two weeks, according to her husband. (PA)

Richard Ratcliffe said his wife’s father had been told her temporary release from Evin prison will now run until April 18.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's father was also notified that his daughter's file had been put forward to the Iranian Prosecutor General for consideration for clemency, he added.

Iran is among the countries worst-affected by Covid-19 - reporting over 29,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,200 deaths from the disease.

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed the news on Twitter - calling it a "glimmer of hope amidst the darkness".

"Let's pray that this remarkable family are reunited soon," he added.

The family's MP Tulip Siddiq tweeted that every day Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is out of prison is "better than the alternative".

But she said that the main focus remained "getting her home and away from the danger of coronavirus in Iran as soon as possible".

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.

She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

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.

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