Husband of British-Iranian woman detained in Iran criticises Foreign Office

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s1600/London+UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="London, England" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s400/London+UK.jpg" title="London, England" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign Office's handling of the matter, saying he feels "gamed" by officials who value trade above the welfare of British citizens and objected to his going public with the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Richard Ratcliffe told the Guardian he felt trade relations had been prioritised over the welfare of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and their 2-year-old daughter Gabriella. "I don't think Nazanin and Gabriella's case, nor any of the others, is a top priority at the moment," he said, referring to 4 other British passport holders he understands are being detained in Iran. "The top priority of the Foreign Office is trade."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a project manager, was arrested at Tehran's international airport by members of the country's Revolutionary Guard on 3 April. She had been about to return to the UK from a family visit in her home country. This month the Revolutionary Guard released a statement accusing her of fomenting a "soft overthrow" of the Islamic Republic, which her husband described as "farcical".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 37-year-old charity worker has since been held in solitary confinement under interrogation and refused access to a lawyer. If convicted of espionage charges she could face up to 20 years in prison or the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe did not meet Foreign Office officials until after he had made his wife's case public in May, 36 days after her arrest, and then only at his request. "It felt almost like the Foreign Office resented me for going public. I was angry, and I felt gamed," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We would have a series of calls and there would be a sort of strange dynamic where occasionally it felt like they were almost trying to get me on record as having said how helpful [they had been]. It's like dealing with a fucking insurance company trying to get out of paying a claim. This is a really odd definition of support, isn't it? It is a really odd dynamic to be covering your arse that early on."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe describes the government's position as: "'This is a delicate matter, we'll hope the Iranians will be nice.' It's like, delicate? I mean, if this was your wife? They can use political capital to force the situation. But there has been no public statement of criticism by a senior politician, and the Iranians notice that."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe is 1 of 3 female dual-citizenship foreign nationals to have been detained by the Revolutionary Guard in the past 3 months. But whereas since March the US state department website has warned dual-passport holders not to visit Iran, the Foreign Office website does not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gabriella's British passport was confiscated by the Iranian authorities, and she is being looked after by her grandparents. Under Iranian law only her father or mother can bring her home. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being detained 620 miles from her daughter in Kerman prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have been supporting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family since we were first made aware of her arrest. Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, has met personally with the family to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can on this case."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The matter is understood to have been raised with Iranian officials, including by the foreign secretary with the Iranian foreign minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Guardian, June 25, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Consular assistance Espionage Iran Islamic Law sharia UK Women Husband of British-Iranian woman detained in Iran criticises Foreign Office

The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign O...

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Aussie sentenced to life for drug trafficking in Vietnam, escapes death penalty

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejwOxmZZaL0bwwNK5UiXaXQFAxmO3yhEbfHAnuoSqXLe9zWTkUufwRlYJUHrAN5MFEp0cWDqF2dqHLwYOxFrsczaSHkMk-Q8yVSQ3xSSpeRZs1Xoa_onDThu9z9Wu0YBLLqst2bNBEbk/s1600/Hanoi+Vietnam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hanoi, Vietnam" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejwOxmZZaL0bwwNK5UiXaXQFAxmO3yhEbfHAnuoSqXLe9zWTkUufwRlYJUHrAN5MFEp0cWDqF2dqHLwYOxFrsczaSHkMk-Q8yVSQ3xSSpeRZs1Xoa_onDThu9z9Wu0YBLLqst2bNBEbk/s400/Hanoi+Vietnam.jpg" title="Hanoi, Vietnam" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced an Australian man to life in prison for drug trafficking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nathan Andrew James was convicted in a one-day trial by the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City this week, a court official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/2013/10/vietnam-arrests-two-australian.html" target="_blank">James, 34, was arrested in October 2013</a> while checking into a flight to Australia after customs officials at the airport discovered 1.5 kilograms ( 3.3 pounds ) of heroin hidden in his luggage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The indictment said James owed some money to a man named Tim, who offered to write off the debt if James agreed to take the heroin hidden in two suitcases from Vietnam to Australia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James told the court that he had received the suitcases from the man, but denied that he knew heroin was hidden in them, an explanation that was rejected by the court, the official said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James could have been sentenced to death, but the court took into consideration his history of mental disorders, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement Wednesday that it has provided consular assistance to a man convicted in Vietnam. It did not name him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That assistance included attending court proceedings and visiting him in prison. The statement gave no other details, citing privacy obligations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vietnam has one of the world's toughest drug laws, where trafficking 100 grams of heroin is punishable by death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Associated Press, June 1, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Australia Consular assistance Drug trafficking Mental Illness Vietnam Aussie sentenced to life for drug trafficking in Vietnam, escapes death penalty

A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced an Australian man to life in prison for drug trafficking. Nathan Andrew James was convicted in a o...

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