Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — House of Commons, 2020-11-03
Topic: International Affairs
Lisa Eva Nandy (Labour, Centre-left): I add my voice to those thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) for her refusal to give up, her persistence on behalf of her constituent, and for ensuring that the voice of Nazanin and her family is heard in this House and beyond. As my hon. Friend said, it is four and a half years since Nazanin was first arbitrarily detained by the Iranian authorities, and just as the end of her original five-year sentence is in sight, she faces the terrifying prospect of a second trial—for which there is no evidence or legal justification—for more crimes that she did not commit, which could extend her detention still further The adjournment of Nazanin’s hearing on Monday delays a potential further miscarriage of justice, but also any prospect of a conclusion to a truly unimaginable ordeal. We believe that the threat of reincarceration, the constant harassment by members of Iran’s revolutionary guard, the repeated delay to judicial hearings, and the levelling of false charges are tantamount to mental torture, and I would be grateful if the Minister told the House whether the Government share that view. They have rightly voiced opposition to Nazanin’s return to prison during a second trial. It is welcome that the Foreign Secretary has made representations generally about Nazanin’s case, but can the Minister say whether the Government have made representations, through the Foreign Secretary, specifically on the issue of the return to prison during a second trial Almost two months ago, I asked the Foreign Secretary about the historical debt that is owed, and whether he agrees with the Defence Secretary, who acknowledged that there is a debt to be paid; the Foreign Secretary said that he did. At an Iranian Foreign Ministry press briefing yesterday, officials repeated that they are pursuing this debt. No one in this House accepts the legitimacy of any direct link between the debt and the arbitrary detention of dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anousheh Ashoori and others. However, there is the prospect of our putting our relations with Iran on a better footing if we resolve this issue, which has dragged on for decades, in which there is a clear legal obligation on the UK, and in regard to which the Defence Secretary has described the UK’s behaviour as "un-British" and obfuscatory I was very concerned to hear the Minister’s response to the question that my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Kilburn asked about the date for a hearing. Will the Minister tell us what steps he has taken in the last two months to progress this issue and find a resolution that ensures that this historical debt does not present an ongoing obstacle to the safe and swift return of Nazanin and other British-Iranian dual nationals? Does he agree with the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt) that if Nazanin is released soon, the acknowledgement of our historical debt will have paid an important part in the release The Minister knows that this is not a party political matter, and that Members in all parts of the House have voiced their full support for Nazanin’s release. As we approach the fifth Christmas that Nazanin will be unable to spend with her family, I hope that he can give us his assurance that everything in the Government’s power is being done to bring her safely home.