Metro, Aug. 20, 2016 – Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been in custody since visiting the country in April with her daughter Gabriella, 2, and despite the trial her charges have been kept secret.
The three hour hearing took place behind closed doors on Sunday and it is understood her trial judge is considering what charges to set.
The mother from West Hampstead only met with her lawyer for the first time three days before the trial, her family said.
She was arrested in April (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Although she was arrested in April, the first accusations against the Thomson Reuters Foundation project manager weren’t made public until June, when the Kerman Branch of the Revolutionary Guard accused her of the ‘soft overthrow’ of the regime.
The Iranian Judiciary said last month that she had been indicted for ‘sowing unrest’, a subsequent release from the Mizan news agent called her an agent for the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The August release claimed the foundation’s charitable work was cover for intelligence ‘used for spying and intelligence operations for Western governments’ and part of ‘an infiltration project.’
This has been refuted by The Foundation and her family.
Her husband, Richard, who has been campaigning for her release from the UK, said: ‘We remain in the hands of the judge, and continue to hope for a happy outcome, and for Nazanin and Gabriella to be home soon.
Richard is urging the government to get Nazanin and Gabriella home
‘Even after the trial, we are still unclear on what Nazanin is actually charged with. I am waiting to see which part of Nazanin’s holiday or her charity work in training and education is seen as a crime.
‘As an outsider, the Revolutionary Court system is strange to get my head around – not just that it is so secret, but also the fact that the charges come only after the trial has finished.
‘It has an upside down quality to defend against. It risks making the crime fit the punishment, rather than the other way round.’
Nazanin’s lawyer has submitted written materials to the Judge in defense of the allegations.
Once charges are published, Nazanin should move from the secret wing of Tehran’s Evin prison, controlled by the Revolutionary Guard, to general cells controlled by the regular Prison Service.
It was previously revealed the mum had spent at least 45 days of her captivity in solitary confinement, having significant impact on her health.
Theresa May has spoken to her Iranian counterpart about the case
It is believed both Theresa May and Boris Johnson have both spoken to their Iranian counterparts about the case.
Iran has until August 22 to respond to a working group petition stating the prisoner’s detention has been in breach of Iranian law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Meanwhile, her daughter Gabriella, a British national, remains living with relatives in Iran.
The prisoner is one of a number of dual-nationality Iranians detained since March.
