Nazanin Zaghari Faces New Charges in Recent Court Hearing

Nazanin Zaghari's husband, an Iranian-British citizen imprisoned in Iran, stated that Ms. Zaghari faced new charges in court on Saturday, May 18. Richard Ratcliffe noted in a statement released on Monday that the court session was presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, and his wife was charged with 'propaganda against the regime.' Ms. Zaghari, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested over two years ago in April 2016 while attempting to leave Iran and was sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of crimes including 'participation in activities related to soft overthrow.' At that time, Nazanin Zaghari was in Iran to visit her family with her young daughter Gabriella, and since her arrest, Gabriella, now three years old, has been living with Ms. Zaghari's parents in Tehran. Reports indicate that Ms. Zaghari is requesting leave at least next month to attend her daughter's fourth birthday celebration. Last week, ahead of a meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and his British counterpart Boris Johnson in Brussels, the campaign for Nazanin Zaghari's freedom announced that her legal case had been reopened. Richard Ratcliffe has now stated that the judge informed his wife to expect another ruling against her. Mr. Ratcliffe also reported that on Sunday, the British ambassador in Tehran managed to meet with Nazanin Zaghari, marking the first diplomatic access to her since her arrest. Media and officials in Iran have yet to report on the new court hearing for this Iranian-British citizen. Over the two years since Ms. Zaghari's arrest and conviction in Iran, Britain has repeatedly called for her release, and Boris Johnson, the UK Foreign Secretary, had previously requested her release on humanitarian grounds during a visit to Tehran a few months ago. Additionally, it has been reported for months that Britain is seeking to facilitate her release by repaying nearly £400 million related to a pre-revolution arms deal with Iran. Iran similarly released several Iranian-American prisoners around the time of receiving an old debt from the US before the implementation of the JCPOA in winter 2016, although these simultaneous events fueled speculation about the release of these prisoners in exchange for a ransom payment to Iran. Current US President Donald Trump is among those who criticize the previous US administration for this reason. Since then, human rights organizations and some political figures have accused Iran of using the detention and mistreatment of dual citizens as hostages to fulfill its expectations from other countries. In this context, the campaign for Nazanin Zaghari's freedom reported the 'reopening' of her case. Abedini-Nejad stated that the issue of Nazanin Zaghari's freedom is under review. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that Nazanin Zaghari's case is unrelated to the British debt. Ratcliffe claimed that Nazanin Zaghari has become a bargaining chip regarding the British debt to Iran. The lack of agreement between Iran and Britain over the interest on the old debt is cited as the 'reason for Zaghari's continued imprisonment.'