Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has told the Mirror he believes the UK government has a “playbook of stalling” when it comes to detained Brits in Iran
For nearly six excruciating years, Richard Ratcliffe’s wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was held hostage in Iran. Arrested on false charges of espionage and plotting to topple the Iranian regime, the British-Iranian citizen became a diplomatic pawn between the UK and Iran.
Richard campaigned tirelessly to secure his wife’s freedom, and reunite their family – with Nazanin cruelly separated from her daughter Gabriella when she was only a baby.
Richard, who has advised the family of the British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who are currently detained in Iran, on their own campaign to help bring their parents home, told the Mirror that he believes the UK government has a “playbook of stalling” when it comes these cases.
He also added that the way the Foreman family had allegedly been treated before launching their public campaign was “depressing” and suggested the Foreign Office had learned few lessons from Nazanin’s case, despite making “promises” to change their approach.
“I found it really alarming that in the six months since Craig and Lindsay were taken hostage, the family had not met the Foreign Secretary or any Minister, or even the Ambassador – and that only changed when they decided to go public,” Richard said.
“It had been the same in Nazanin’s case. So it was depressing to see none of the lessons from our had been learned, despite the Foreign Secretary’s promises in the elections to transform consular protections.”
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Iran, and a spokesperson said to the Mirror in response to Richard’s claims, “We are deeply concerned by reports that two British nationals have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
“We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”
Lindsay and Craig are believed to be held in Kerman Prison, but their family has had little contact, and distressingly, doesn’t know very much about the conditions the couple is enduring.
The couple were arrested at the start of the year, whilst embarking on a motorbike trip from Spain to Australia, and undertaking a project about what makes a good life as they went, connecting with strangers and learning about communities.
They have been accused of espionage by the Iranian authorities, something their family has insisted is utterly false.
It was supposed to be the adventurous trip of a lifetime: but the couple suddenly went out of contact with their family as they were travelling through Iran – and never arrived at their hotel.
In early June, the Foremans were due to be transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran – where Nazanin was imprisoned between 2017 and her eventual release in 2022.
However, just weeks later, Israeli strikes hit the infamous facility, and Lindsay and Craig’s family had no idea if they were safe, or whether the planned transfer had even gone ahead. Through the Foreign Office, Iranian authorities have since said that the couple are in Kerman – but their four children spent weeks in an unbearable limbo, with no idea what was going on.
Richard told the Mirror he found it “really shocking” that the UK government had seemingly not stayed on top of the couple’s whereabouts during the conflict.
“I was really shocked that the government had lost track of them in the middle of the Iran-Israel war, and had just closed the Embassy and not updated the family,” the campaigner said.
“When Evin prison got bombed, the only thing that mattered was proof of life. Not a vague assurance from the Iranian authorities, but a phone call to the family where they confirmed where they were, and a visit from an independent doctor to confirm they are ok.
“It is quite astonishing that after six months, the government still has not secured that.”
The embassy in Tehran has since been reopened, and Hamish Falconer MP – Minister for the Middle East said, “We will continue to play our full role to ensure the safety of British nationals in Iran.”
Richard explained that during his own family’s ordeal, “The main thing that kept us going across the years was knowing we were not alone, finding all these people following our story and caring.”
He added, “So talking to other families in the same shoes helped me understand our own story better – to realise Iran’s games weren’t personal, and to better spot the UK’s playbook for stalling.
That made it gradually easier to navigate, to know the game we were a chess piece in. It takes us all time to accept.
Richard revealed to the Mirror some of the advice he shared with Lindsay and Craig’s family as they campaign to secure the release of their “generous and fun” parents.
“The main thing I told them when we first met was that they needed to get it confirmed where they were, and that they were still alive,” Richard said, but added that their journey will likely differ from his own during those difficult years when Nazanin was imprisoned.
“I told them that there is no road map – and what works for them will be their own path. But they should remember that the government’s interests were different from the family’s, and that it would continually find ways to kettle the campaign, and stop their suffering getting in the way of other agendas.
“They would get sympathy, but they would have to push hard for any action.”
Lindsay and Craig’s children encourage anyone moved by their parents’ story to write to their MP to help their campaign to secure the couple’s release from Iran.
Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/freelindsayandcraig or to learn more, visit www.freelindsayandcraig.com