The Guardian, Mon 7 Jan
Iran is digging its own diplomatic grave by punishing the jailed British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after it cut both her food rations and access to medical treatment for a lump on her breast, the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, has said.
The family of the 40-year-old, who has been detained in Iran since 2016, said last week that she intended to begin a hunger strike on Monday 14 January alongside her fellow inmate and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi.
The two women have been requesting medical treatment promised to them by a prison doctor, but denied by the Iranian prison authorities.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s weekly Sunday phonecall with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has since been cut as well as her medical rations.
Alistair Burt, the Middle East minister, who was speaking in the Commons on Monday, insisted her access to medicines was of “supreme importance” to the UK, and said pressure was being applied on the Iranian government to allow British officials consular access to her in prison. He said Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release may change perceptions of Iran.
Read the full report on the Guardian website
