Court Rejects Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's Bail Request

The Free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe campaign announced on Friday that the Revolutionary Court has rejected Ms. Zaghari's lawyer's request for her release on bail. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who holds dual Iranian and British citizenship and works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation (a charity linked to Reuters), was arrested on April 15 while attempting to leave Iran. According to her husband, Nazanin traveled to Iran with her young child to visit her family. The Free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe campaign stated that Ms. Zaghari was tried in a closed session for three hours on Sunday, August 14 (24 Mordad). The statement adds that the court did not allow Nazanin's family to attend the trial. According to the statement, Nazanin's lawyer, along with her father, submitted a written request for her release on bail during a meeting with the judge. The statement specifies that on Wednesday, Nazanin's lawyer and her father asked the court president to consider Nazanin's four-month separation from her two-year-old child, Gabriella, and approve her release on bail. The court rejected the initial bail request on Wednesday, August 17. However, Nazanin's family hopes to submit another bail request and that the court will approve it. Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin's husband, previously stated that she was tried for the first time on Monday, August 2, in the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. Judge Salavati is known for issuing heavy sentences against political and social activists opposing the Islamic Republic. According to Richard Ratcliffe, this was the fourth time his wife and daughter had traveled to Iran, and 'the idea that she was part of an active plot this time, while she had no issues before, is not only delusional but a calculated lie.' The Thomson Reuters Foundation also emphasized that it 'has no cooperation with Iran, does not operate in Iran, and has no plans to operate in Iran.' Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed concern in a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the situation of Ms. Zaghari and several other British citizens detained in Iran. In this context, the detention of a dual-national citizen on charges of 'links with the British intelligence service' was highlighted. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was tried in the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati. The UK has warned its citizens about the risk of detention in Iran.