Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman held by Tehran, started a hunger strike after her interrogators tried to persuade her to become a spy, her husband has claimed.
Richard Ratcliffe revealed his wife was calm as she began an initial three-day hunger strike in protest at the Iranian prison authorities’ refusal to give her a clear written undertaking that she would receive medical help for a lump on her breast, as well as other concerns.
He was speaking as the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, summoned the Iranian ambassador to demand the dual national, sentenced to five years in prison for espionage, was given proper medical help.
Ratcliffe said it was “now or never” for Hunt to escalate the situation by saying the British government would give his wife diplomatic protection, a means by which the row would be elevated to a state-to-state dispute, making an international legal claim for her to be visited by UK authorities in prison more likely to be granted.
Later on Monday, Ratcliffe met Hunt for about 40 minutes and discussed the prospect of granting his wife diplomatic protection.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “The foreign secretary discussed this course of action with Richard Ratcliffe today and will continue to actively consider the question of diplomatic protection, alongside all other options in Nazanin’s case and the cases of other dual nationals detained in Iran.”
Ratcliffe said the foreign secretary vowed to “do all we can” to return his wife. Hunt described Ratcliffe as “inspirational” in a tweet featuring a picture of their meeting. “We will not rest until she is home,” he said.
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