Iran Focus
London, 21 Feb – The Iranian Regime has finally allowed political prisoner, Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, to see a qualified doctor at Iranmehr Hospital in Tehran.
The specialist neurologist warned the guards that without urgent treatment the British mum ran the risk of permanent physical disability.
However, the prison guards did not allow this and took Nazanin back to prison.
Her husband Richard spoke to her on Saturday and later spoke to Ham and High, his local paper, about Nazanin’s ordeal.
He said: “She cried for the entire call. Nazanin’s fragile health this weekend has been a reminder that we must continue to campaign, that we cannot allow many more months of this to pass.”
He expressed his gratitude that Nazanin had been seen by a specialist but urged the Iranian authorities to seek treatment for her.
He said: “I hope that [the neurologist’s] concerns are acted upon by the Iranian authorities – and that she does indeed not suffer any permanent physical damage from this ordeal. The psychological is already more than enough.”
Nazanin has been suffering from severe insomnia, due to panic attacks and a feeling of inescapable pressure.
She is made to sleep on a stone floor with no blanket, given low-quality food and allowed no exercise. Coupled with the psychological distress of being wrongfully imprisoned and being separated from her two-year-old daughter, Gabriella, it’s no wonder that Nazanin is suffering from sleep problems.
She has a history of neck and shoulder problems, needing extensive physiotherapy after Gabriella’s birth and an operation on her neck many years ago, in Iran.
Richard said: “It is clear that the move to the general cells is much better – I am thankful for the support offered to her by her fellow cellmates, for the additional visits Gabriella now has to see her mum, and for the increased medical attention Nazanin receives.”
He continued: “However, it also means we have a greater awareness of just what Nazanin is going through, and of the price she is continuing to pay the longer this is unresolved.”
Nazanin was arrested in April and held on vague national security charges for five months. In September, she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for attempting to overthrow the Iranian Regime.
Gabriella is being cared for by her maternal grandparents as the Regime refuses to release her passport.
It is widely suspected that the two are being held as hostages in the Iranian Regime’s negotiations with the British Government.
