Britain to give jailed British-Iranian aid worker diplomatic protection

Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said that the UK decides to provide diplomatic protection to British-Iranian mother. This is to underline the government’s belief that Iran has made an unjust behavior in her treatment.

Hunt said that this move is unlikely to be a “magic wand”. He said that formally it recognizes that the U.K. government views her treatment as unjust and illegal.

In a video statement in Twitter, Hunt said that “This represents a formal recognition by the British Government that her treatment fails to meet Iran’s obligations under international law and elevates it to a formal state-to-state issue”.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was a project manager in the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April 2016 as she headed back to Britain with her daughter after a family visit.

She was convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran’s clerical establishment. The charge was denied by her family.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had a hunger strike in protest at her treatment in jail. She had several health issues. She was undergoing tests for breast cancer and a series of panic attacks, and her emotional state had gone worse during her confinement.

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