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Nazanin’s husband vents fury over forced confession by Iran

Rachael Burford Political Reporter

NAZANIN Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband today spoke of his “fury” that his wife was forced to sign a false confession drawn up by the Iranians before being allowed to fly home.

Richard Ratcliffe also said it was “startling” that British officials appeared to be involved in making his wife admit to spying before she would be released after almost six years detained in Iran.

The 44-year-old mother-of-one has claimed she resisted signing a “blank” document in the days before her release in March, but Mr Ratcliffe said she was forced to “at the airport in the presence of the British government” on the day she flew home.

“I was sitting at home getting texts from her and I was furious that this happened,” Mr Ratcliffe told Sky News.

“I’m hugely pleased that she’s home, but I think it was startling that the British

Government also required her to sign that confession.” He added Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was “worried” that speaking about the confession would have an impact on her family in Iran and would be used as propaganda.

“It felt very important that she did it,” he said. “There’s a lot of friends she’s got left behind who are sitting in prison cells, who are being abused in horrible ways.”

Charity worker Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe yesterday told the BBC she was taken to Tehran airport without seeing her parents and made to sign the document in the presence of British officials. She said: “The whole thing was filmed. It’s a tool. I’m sure they’ll show it some day.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Iran put Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe through a horrendous ordeal, right up to the moment she left the country. Throughout that time the UK Government was working tirelessly to end her unfair detention.”

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2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

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