Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

[Blackpool Rock]

You're assuming she is and was innocent. She went to Iran against all advice, caused a lot of bother, and got banged up.

We all know the Iranians are bonkers. Leave well alone. You go in and shit stir, you're going to get into trouble. Look what happened to Nicolas Brody.

Her display yesterday was appalling. Best she keeps her trap shut in future. We all know these middle class types. They don't know how to keep a lid on it.

And you're assuming she wasn't innocent then, perhaps you could tell us exactly what "Bother" she caused instead of visiting family 

I'm assuming it's this "Display" that you don't like 
External Link/Members Only

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

And lets not forget she's missed out on her child growing up, you can't turn the clock back and she will never get that time back again

[WASA38]

And you're assuming she wasn't innocent then, perhaps you could tell us exactly what "Bother" she caused instead of visiting family 

I'm assuming it's this "Display" that you don't like 
External Link/Members Only

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

And lets not forget she's missed out on her child growing up, you can't turn the clock back and she will never get that time back again

Well said B R. With you all the way.

'middle class types' ? ! Chips on shoulders comes to mind.

[hermanmunster]

And you're assuming she wasn't innocent then, perhaps you could tell us exactly what "Bother" she caused instead of visiting family 

I'm assuming it's this "Display" that you don't like 
External Link/Members Only

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

And lets not forget she's missed out on her child growing up, you can't turn the clock back and she will never get that time back again

In my travels I have been to many Muslim countries and have not always been made to feel welcome and am therefore very careful.  Regarding her interview (see above link), I have no idea what it is, but I feel there is something that is not being said - I am just (sceptically) not convinced of her sincerity.

[radioman33]

Well said B R. With you all the way.

'middle class types' ? ! Chips on shoulders comes to mind.

Couldn’t agree more,was she supposed to be looking sad and scruffy for the press conference?
She hadn’t seen her child for years and was bitter at her situation rightly so.

[King Nuts]

And you're assuming she wasn't innocent then, perhaps you could tell us exactly what "Bother" she caused instead of visiting family 

I'm assuming it's this "Display" that you don't like 
External Link/Members Only

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

And lets not forget she's missed out on her child growing up, you can't turn the clock back and she will never get that time back again

You're getting a bit carried away here. I 'assume' nothing. No idea whether she committed what you or I would call a crime or not, but I think one can reasonably assume she must have broken some local law or other, to get banged up.

As regards getting her released, my understanding is (and I'm trying to sift through all the bollocks that's been said and written about this case) that handing over X million quid to the Iranians was always going to contravene sanctions regulations. Hence it took as long as it did to get her sprung.

Has our Government been slow or incompetent at dealing with this? Quite possibly. They're slow and incompetent at most things. But diplomacy works in its own weird way, and doesn't always benefit from having too much light shone on it.

[King Nuts]

Couldn’t agree more,was she supposed to be looking sad and scruffy for the press conference?
She hadn’t seen her child for years and was bitter at her situation rightly so.

The bitterness is more rightly directed at the Iranian government. Not at ours.

[King Nuts]

In my travels I have been to many Muslim countries and have not always been made to feel welcome and am therefore very careful.  Regarding her interview (see above link), I have no idea what it is, but I feel there is something that is not being said - I am just (sceptically) not convinced of her sincerity.

I agree. The situation in Iran is more complex than a great many people understand. It's not like Egypt or Syria or any other Arab countries. The Iranians are not Arabs. Entirely different culture, language and so on.

[Doc Holliday]

You're getting a bit carried away here. I 'assume' nothing. No idea whether she committed what you or I would call a crime or not, but I think one can reasonably assume she must have broken some local law or other, to get banged up.

You say you assume nothing but go on to 'assume' she broke some local law? That assumption is wrong. As always these things have an extremely complex political background.

Many do not realise that the UK had been avoiding paying this debt for over 40 years. It repeatedly lost in court but obstinately refused to pay what is a relatively small debt. There is quite a detailed history here from a couple of years ago. External Link/Members Only.

In addition she knew she was at risk when visiting Iran, because they were arresting people with whom she had historical work associations. External Link/Members Only

"On 17 March 2016, Zaghari-Ratcliffe travelled to visit her family for Nowruz (Iranian New Year) with her 22-month-old daughter. On 3 April 2016, members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard arrested her at the Imam Khomeini Airport as she and her daughter were about to board a flight back to the UK. Her daughter's British passport was confiscated during the arrest, but later returned, and she remained in Iran under the care of her maternal grandparents so she could visit her mother.

The exact reason for her arrest was initially unclear, though according to Amnesty International it is believed to be related to the 2014 imprisonment of several Iranian technology news website employees. The head of Kerman province's justice department, Ali Tavakoli, said they had participated in projects run by the BBC and received funds from London:

This gang was running a number of projects and plans for anti-revolutionary Iranians based abroad, especially for the BBC Persian, under the guise of legitimate activities. Financial aid for this group was usually provided from London under the pretext of charitable donations. The director of the team was an individual who has served the BBC as a mentor and teacher in a number of countries such as Malaysia, India and Afghanistan and his travels to these countries were paid for by British intelligence services.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe has worked for the BBC World Service Trust (now called BBC Media Action), an international charity that provided training courses to Iranian citizen journalists and bloggers in its Iran Media Development Project's ZigZag magazine and associated radio programme. In 2014, several graduates were convicted and sentenced by Iran to up to 11 years in jail for their participation in these courses.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe worked for the BBC World Service Trust between February 2009 and October 2010, "in a junior capacity as a Training Assistant" according to the CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, before moving to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. BBC Media Action described her role as "junior and purely administrative".

Mashregh News, an outlet close to Iranian authorities, pointed to her alleged involvement with the human rights organizations Women Living Under Muslim Laws and Hivos as a motive for her arrest.

In early September 2016, she was sentenced to five years in prison "for allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian regime." The prosecutor general of Tehran stated in October 2017 that she was imprisoned for running "...a BBC Persian online journalism course which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran".


These are the ingredients in the mixing pot. Nothing to do with local laws.

Things went from bad to worse after the arrest as it all became increasing political and high profile, ironically probably not helped by her husband?

[mills_and_bhuna]

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

[/quote]I think you're confusing countries here.
It's not' Iranian-style' to stone women to death.
That would be far more likely to happen in that country which happens to be our good friend and ally Saudi Arabia, also a bastion of free speech and haven for dissenting journalists 🤔

[Colston36]

A 400 million pound debt, was she a spy?
Such a complex situation with complex issues and the one thing blokes thought when she gave that interview today :

" I would "

Shes gorgeous, doesnt look like 6 years In prison was too harsh on her though

I wonder if Mr radcliffe actually went 6 years cold Turkey

Me too. He deserved sympathy and admiration because he never gave up.

This made me laugh

External Link/Members Only

[Blackpool Rock]

I've just watched it again properly and I 100% agree with what she says, in her view she should have been released years ago and was repeatedly told she was going to get out by foreign secretaries who then didn't get her out.
What's she supposed to do then just be a cowering quiet little woman who simply forgets her ordeal of the last 6 years and comes out like nothing has happened, perhaps she should be stoned to death Iranian style for disagreeing with what her husband said

I think you're confusing countries here.
It's not' Iranian-style' to stone women to death.
That would be far more likely to happen in that country which happens to be our good friend and ally Saudi Arabia, also a bastion of free speech and haven for dissenting journalists 🤔

Really 

OK so this article is almost 10 years old so i'm happy to admit my info is out of date if someone can provide a credible link saying it no longer happens

IRAN: Stoning is a legal punishment in Iran, which has the world’s highest rate of execution by stoning 

External Link/Members Only

[catweazle]

IRAN: Stoning is a legal punishment in Iran, which has the world’s highest rate of execution by stoning 

External Link/Members Only

Just watch "The Stoning of Soraya M" to understand what a medieval barbaric method of execution it is.

[willie loman]

Just watch "The Stoning of Soraya M" to understand what a medieval barbaric method of execution it is.

they also hang without paying too much attention to age or mental capacity.

[PepeMAGA]

Will be interesting to see what comes of the investigation. From the Wikipedia link DH posted it seems that a "hidden" part of government was responsible for not paying the debt.
I assumed it was pressure from the US to not pay it, though it says there that they themselves paid 400m in debt

[petermisc]

Unfortunately, the Revolutionary Guard in Iran are almost a law unto themselves.  If I recall correctly, she was released awhile back, and the Revolutionary Guard promptly re-arrested her, and the judge was obliged to give her a further sentence (it does not pay to cross the Revolutionary Guard).

While undoubtedly her release was tied to the payment of the debt, it was never as simple as that.  I recall an interview that a previous foreign secretary gave awhile back that explained the situation in some detail.  As I recall, the British Government weren't convinced that paying the debt would actually lead to her release (remember that one of the other British hostages released at the same time as her, was promptly detained again).  Secondly, after paying for one of their hostages to be released, the Americans promptly announced that any organisation or country doing something similar would be sanctioned.  Which meant no bank or third-country was prepared to facilitate a payment.  There were several times when it looked like a deal could be done, only for something to scupper it at the last moment (such as a change of regime in Iran or America).

Undoubtedly some foreign secretaries had other priorities, and could have done more.  However, it is doubtful that Boris Johnson's bungled intervention did any harm - if he hadn't of provided them with an excuse to keep her in prison, they would have found some other excuse.  After all, her only real "crime" was to have once briefly worked for the BBC.

I did find her interview ungrateful.  I can understand her feeling bitter about being a pawn caught in the middle.  However, it wasn't the British who imprisoned her, and I heard little criticism from her of those who were responsible.  But perhaps she hopes to see her family again?  In which case, better not say anything that might upset the Iranians.

[tintin100]

Why she should be grateful ? I don't get it.

[PepeMAGA]

Had she said anything negative about the regime that's had her locked up, or just the UK government that got her out?

[RedKettle]

Had she said anything negative about the regime that's had her locked up, or just the UK government that got her out?

If your family was still over there would you be careful what you said? If you wanted the other hostages released would you be careful? Might you also think that there is little point as we know what the regime is like?

[Blackpool Rock]

If your family was still over there would you be careful what you said? If you wanted the other hostages released would you be careful? Might you also think that there is little point as we know what the regime is like?

Exactly this and i'm not sure why some people can't work this out, thankfully they aren't in charge of making the decisions 

[lamboman]

Had she said anything negative about the regime that's had her locked up, or just the UK government that got her out?

I can understand her not not criticizing the regime but she could have at the very least given some credit to the current FS.
The interview says a lot about her and perhaps why she endend up being locked up for so long.
Ungrateful,full of herself and condescendingly putting her husband down.

[RedKettle]

I can understand her not not criticizing the regime but she could have at the very least given some credit to the current FS.
The interview says a lot about her and perhaps why she endend up being locked up for so long.
Ungrateful,full of herself and condescendingly putting her husband down.

If I had been unfairly locked away in another country for 6 years I am pretty sure I would come out raging and ready to lash out at everybody.

I find it sad that there is so little empathy in the world.

[lamboman]

If I had been unfairly locked away in another country for 6 years I am pretty sure I would come out raging and ready to lash out at everybody.

I find it sad that there is so little empathy in the world.

I'd have been grateful and happy myself it wasn't the governments fault she got banged up.

[RedKettle]

I'd have been grateful and happy myself it wasn't the governments fault she got banged up.

I am pleased for you that you are such a perfect person, well done. I am pretty sure I would let the side down and be just a tad irritated with the person who said every long year they would get me out but failed to deliver for 6 years.

[JontyR]

it wasn't the governments fault she got banged up.

if she was leverage to get them to pay on the debt that they owed then it was absolutely the government's fault.

But you do have a responsibility for your own safety. I am fascinated by some of these regimes and want to experience them for myself - they are so alien to my own experience. But I don't go to Iran or North Korea because I know there is a risk that I woud become a pawn in a game over which I have no control. 

However would I risk it if my family was over there? I dunno. I'm just grateful I'm not in that situation. 

[hermanmunster]

if she was leverage to get them to pay on the debt that they owed then it was absolutely the government's fault.

But you do have a responsibility for your own safety. I am fascinated by some of these regimes and want to experience them for myself - they are so alien to my own experience. But I don't go to Iran or North Korea because I know there is a risk that I woud become a pawn in a game over which I have no control. 

However would I risk it if my family was over there? I dunno. I'm just grateful I'm not in that situation.

Do we know what was actually said by the government - there is a big difference between "We will do our best to get you out of here asap" and "the government will have you released by xxx date".  In any case the government would hardly have said "it's unlikley you will be released for 6 years".

But she was apparently not in prison since the first lockdown in March 2020 - but was just banned from leaving the country - not exactly the hardship that has been portrayed.

[Blackpool Rock]

Do we know what was actually said by the government - there is a big difference between "We will do our best to get you out of here asap" and "the government will have you released by xxx date".  In any case the government would hardly have said "it's unlikley you will be released for 6 years".

But she was apparently not in prison since the first lockdown in March 2020 - but was just banned from leaving the country - not exactly the hardship that has been portrayed.

But what about before that 

5 Years in Evin prison which has a reputation for not exactly being a holiday camp
External Link/Members Only

And exactly what was she subjected to while detained there 
Perhaps more information will come out but for all we know she was threatened with death and was tortured or even raped 

An excerpt from the Wiki link

On 23 June 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking photographs in front of the prison, and died of blunt trauma to the head, while imprisoned. The Iranian government said that she died from a stroke while being interrogated. Doctors examining Kazemi's body found evidence of rape, torture and a skull fracture.[12][13]

At dawn on 27 July 2008, the Iranian government executed a total of 29 people at Evin Prison by hanging.[14]