Nazanin Zaghari, according to her husband, has been accused of new crimes

Richard Ratcliffe says his wife Nazanin Zaghari, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for conspiracy to carry out a 'soft overthrow' of the Iranian government, has been accused of new crimes that could add 16 years to her sentence. According to the Associated Press, Ms. Zaghari, who was arrested in April 2016 while returning to Iran with her young child, was informed of the new charges on Sunday in Evin prison. These new accusations have been made against her by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and cast doubt on the possibility of her early release next month. Richard Ratcliffe has stated that the new charges relate to her previous work with the BBC news network and her charity work with Reuters. He mentioned that Ms. Zaghari has denied these accusations. The British Foreign Office and the Iranian representation at the United Nations have not commented on this matter, and Iranian state media have not yet covered this news. Iranian news agencies had previously reported that Ms. Zaghari was arrested for conspiracy to carry out a 'soft overthrow' of the Iranian government while visiting her family in Iran. Ms. Zaghari's family claims that the IRGC has attempted to obtain a video confession from her to prove she participated in recruiting and training spies, which Ms. Zaghari has denied. Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe is one of several dual citizens who have been detained and imprisoned by hardline elements in Iran's security and judicial institutions on charges of espionage or collaboration with hostile countries, likely being used as leverage in negotiations with the West. A UN investigative panel recently described this method as a 'new pattern' that the Iranian government has utilized since 2015 and the signing of the nuclear agreement. The Iranian government does not recognize the second citizenship of its citizens, and as a result, these prisoners are deprived of consular assistance from their home countries. In most cases, the trials of dual citizens are held in secret, and their crimes are not disclosed. The Associated Press reminds that others have been convicted and imprisoned for similar charges due to their citizenship or ties to Western countries, including Xiao Wang, a Chinese-American doctoral student at Princeton who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'illegal entry and document collection' while researching the Qajar dynasty. Abdolrasool Dari Esfahani, who holds Iranian and Canadian citizenship and was a member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, was also recently sentenced to five years in prison for 'espionage.' Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American citizen, and his 81-year-old father Baqer Namazi, a former UNESCO official and governor of Khuzestan during the Shah's rule, have also been sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'espionage.' Robin Shahini, an Iranian-American who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for 'collaborating with hostile governments,' was released on bail after a long hunger strike last year and is said to still be in Iran. Another individual detained in this wave is Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-American citizen active in internet freedom who had worked for the U.S. government. Last year, he was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'espionage.' Additionally, Robert Levinson, a former FBI employee, has been missing since 2007 after going to Iran on an unconfirmed CIA mission. Last Friday, October 6, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution calling on the Iranian government to release American citizens and permanent residents imprisoned in the country. This resolution is expected to be brought to the Senate floor in the coming weeks and urges the U.S. government to consider the issue of freeing American prisoners in Iran as a key focus in any negotiations with Iran. In this context, the hope of Nazanin Zaghari's husband for her release follows a British official's visit to Tehran, and the request for a review of her five-year prison sentence has been 'rejected.' The anniversary of Nazanin Zaghari's arrest and efforts to 'not let her be forgotten' continue, with Amnesty International calling for her release and the British Foreign Secretary stating that her freedom is a priority.