Prosecutor's Claim in Response to Zaghari's Hunger Strike: 'Best Facilities' for Security Convicts

The Tehran prosecutor reacted to the hunger strike of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist, in prison, claiming that 'security convicts' in Iran have access to 'the best' medical facilities. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi also dismissed Zaghari's statements, relayed by her husband, that Iranian officials had asked her to spy for them in exchange for her freedom in Britain, calling it 'projection.' Nazanin Zaghari, along with Narges Mohammadi, the vice president and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, began a three-day hunger strike on Monday in protest against the lack of medical care provided by prison officials. These two political prisoners claim that a trusted physician from the prison organization had issued a written report stating that they required urgent medical treatment at healthcare centers, but prison officials have prevented this for unknown reasons. This situation prompted the British Foreign Secretary to summon the Iranian ambassador in London to protest Zaghari-Ratcliffe's conditions in prison. Jeremy Hunt tweeted: 'I summoned the Iranian ambassador and demanded access for her [Zaghari] to medical needs and assistance. Her continued detention is completely unacceptable, and the way Iranian officials treat her in prison is a violation of fundamental human rights.' Meanwhile, Zaghari's husband stated that security agents had offered her the chance to spy for them in Britain in exchange for her freedom, which she rejected. The Tehran prosecutor responded to these reports on Wednesday, stating: 'According to a report I received last night, in contact with the family, granting leave and medical facilities receives the most attention' for 'convicts and defendants' in Iran. According to Dolatabadi, 'The judge residing in the prison is present for both general and security crimes and regularly meets with these individuals, and in terms of phone contact, family visits, and access to medical facilities, even treatment outside the prison, they are in the best condition.' He identified Nazanin Zaghari and 'a few others' as 'convicts' who have been sentenced for 'serious crimes and have one of the heaviest charges.' The Tehran prosecutor labeled Zaghari's statements regarding the lack of medical care in prison and the spying issue as 'merely aimed at maligning and overshadowing the Iranian judicial system' and expressed hope that the British government would 'cease these projections.' Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 while traveling to Iran with her young daughter and was accused of 'attempting to overthrow' the Iranian government, charges that she and her lawyer have denied. Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London, has also called on Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari, a British-Iranian citizen, from prison. The British Foreign Secretary has accused the Islamic Republic of taking Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hostage to exert diplomatic pressure on London. Jeremy Hunt visited Tehran in late November, during which he attempted to meet with Nazanin Zaghari, but this did not materialize. Mr. Hunt warned Iran at that time that if it sought to use the detention of dual nationals as a diplomatic pressure tool, it would have to pay the price.