Nazanin Zaghari has been told she will not be released until Britain pays its debt

According to close associates of Nazanin Zaghari, the Iranian-British citizen imprisoned in Tehran, a judicial official has informed her that she will not be eligible for early release until the British government pays its debt to Iran. According to a statement from the "Free Nazanin Campaign" released on Monday, July 23, the judge responsible for reviewing requests for pardon and early release told Ms. Zaghari on Saturday that until the British government repays its debt, she will not be eligible for early release, parole, or pardon on humanitarian grounds. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a former employee of the Thomson Reuters charity, was arrested in April 2016 while attempting to leave Iran and was sentenced to five years in prison for "participating in activities related to soft overthrow." According to the "Free Nazanin Campaign," Ms. Zaghari has been eligible for parole for about eight months, and in a few weeks, considering she has served half of her sentence, she will be eligible for unconditional release. The report states that Nazanin Zaghari met for about half an hour with Judge Abbasi, who is responsible for making decisions in this matter, on Saturday to request her release after serving half of her sentence. The statement notes that Judge Abbasi advised her not to tell anyone about her lack of release until the British debt is repaid, but Nazanin has recounted the details of this conversation to her family. This Iranian-British citizen also told her family that during her meeting with Judge Abbasi, she asked him to allow her to join her father in Britain, considering her daughter's age, who is supposed to start school this year; however, the judge did not agree to this request either. Gabriella, Ms. Zaghari's daughter, who recently turned four, has not been allowed to leave Iran since her mother's arrest. Furthermore, the statement mentioned that Nazanin Zaghari spoke on the phone last Sunday with the British ambassador in Tehran, who told her that the British Foreign Secretary had specifically asked about her case and mentioned that following up on Ms. Zaghari's situation is among his priorities. The Zaghari-Ratcliffe family has stated that they are trying to meet with the new British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. Throughout the more than two years since Nazanin Zaghari's arrest and conviction in Iran, Britain has repeatedly called for her release, and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also called for Ms. Zaghari's release on humanitarian grounds during his visit to Tehran. However, Iranian officials have left these requests unanswered, and reports have emerged linking Ms. Zaghari's fate to an old financial dispute between the two countries. Nevertheless, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied such a connection.