Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe feels ‘strong sense of trepidation’ on eve of hunger strike, husband says

‘There aren’t many ways she can say, “Enough is enough. Take me seriously”’

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British charity worker jailed in Iran, feels “a strong sense of trepidation” as she prepares to begin a hunger strike, her husband has said.

The British-Iranian dual national will strike for three days from Monday in protest at being denied healthcare in Evin Prison.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, has suffered a catalogue of mental and physical health complaints since she was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on 3 April, 2016.

The mother from Hampstead, north London, is serving a five-year jail sentence after being accused of spying – a charge she strongly denies.

Speaking to The Observer, her husband Richard Ratcliffe said: “We know a hunger strike has significant physical consequences the longer it goes on for and Nazanin is feeling a strong sense of trepidation.

“But there aren’t many ways she can say, ‘Enough is enough. Take me seriously’.”

He also previously told The Independent his wife’s family were fearful she was not physically strong enough to pull through the hunger strike.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe will be joined in the strike by Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being charged with “collusion against national security” and “committing propaganda against the state”.

Richard Ratcliffe, husband of detained British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe (Reuters) (Reuters/Henry Nicholls)

Mr Ratcliffe said his wife would consider extending the hunger strike if her demands to see a doctor are not met.

He said Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been refused medical treatment for checking lumps in her breasts, neurological care over neck pains and numbness in her arms and legs, and for seeing an outside psychiatrist.

The family’s ordeal began when Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was separated from her now four-year-old daughter Gabriella at Tehran airport in April 2016 while attempting to return home to London.

The charity worker was left at risk of suicide after spending eight months in solitary confinement.

She spent her 40th birthday on Boxing Day in prison, where she has been detained for more than 1,000 days.

Her daughter has been staying with family in Iran since Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was imprisoned.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe has mounted a high-profile campaign for his wife’s release.

He previously claimed inmates were also being threatened with reduced phone calls and restricted access to food and has called for an urgent meeting with the Iranian ambassador to London.