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Original poster

U.K. to pay Tehran £400m

60 replies

IsItAugustYet · 02/05/2021 15:15

Nazarin to be released.

Thank god for that!!!

OP posts:
Doomsdayiscoming · 02/05/2021 15:55

Only took 5 years.

Moondust001 · 02/05/2021 15:57

The source is Iranian state tv - a known reputable source of news. There is no confirmation that the UK government is doing this, and in all honesty, much as I would like to see her freed, I damned well hope it is not true. Paying for hostages is the fastest way to have everyone arresting your citizens as pawns in a game.

Chatanooga1 · 02/05/2021 16:11

I hope we don’t give them this money.

As for the lady in question, whilst I despise the Iranian regime, it does appear she was outspoken against them and whilst the punishment may be to the extreme, she would have been aware of the harsh and cruel penalties for criticising them.

toffeebutterpopcorn · 02/05/2021 16:16

If they money is used for humanitarian purposes - but then that would only help out the government as the average man/woman in the street is really suffering as a result of sanctions. The rich and powerful rarely suffer.

AntiHop · 02/05/2021 16:16

@Chatanooga1

I hope we don’t give them this money.

As for the lady in question, whilst I despise the Iranian regime, it does appear she was outspoken against them and whilst the punishment may be to the extreme, she would have been aware of the harsh and cruel penalties for criticising them.

No she wasn't outspoken against the regime.
vinoandbrie · 02/05/2021 16:17

Where is the evidence that Nazanin was outspoken against the regime?

toffeebutterpopcorn · 02/05/2021 16:17

No more than any other Iranian I suspect.

Maladicta · 02/05/2021 16:18

Chatanooga1 Completely wrong. She has never made any comment about the regime.

OnlyInYourDreams · 02/05/2021 16:22

This reply has been deleted

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theotherfossilsister · 02/05/2021 16:28

I thought this was fantastic news when it looked like she was coming home, will be devastated for her and her family if it's not true.

littleducks · 02/05/2021 16:37

I hope it is true. She really didn't deserve to be held there so long.

I do think she way a fool to go there and visit family when she knew the possible consequences. I am also a bit dubious as to why her husband allowed her child to stay there so long with her grandparents rather than being her back to the UK earlier..... It seemed calculated to gain more sympathy and try to pursue the UK government to intervene. At the time of the infuriating arrest the UK government were saying the child could be returned but family didn't want that.

But maybe in that situation I would make odd choices to try and achieve my aim. Or maybe our government statements ages as iffy as the Iranian ones were. Boris definitely didn't help.

TokyoSushi · 02/05/2021 16:39

This is so tricky. We're not just bunging Iran £400m to get her out, we do owe the money. It's abhorrent that they've effectively held her hostage to get it though.

Lesemeraudes · 02/05/2021 16:40

@Chatanooga1

I hope we don’t give them this money.

As for the lady in question, whilst I despise the Iranian regime, it does appear she was outspoken against them and whilst the punishment may be to the extreme, she would have been aware of the harsh and cruel penalties for criticising them.

Totally incorrect. She was not outspoken about the regime, she was visiting her family. The UK haven't done enough for her, and in fact B. Johnson made it a whole lot worse with his stupid inaccurate comments.
Lesemeraudes · 02/05/2021 16:42

@OnlyInYourDreams

She wasn’t outspoken against the regime however she attended a protest against Iran as a journalist and Iranian citizens are banned from attending protests against the regime and as a journalist she will have known this.

While the punishment appears to have been disproportionate (in truth we have no idea whether she is innocent or not,) I think it’s fair to say that she made some unwise decisions and knew what the consequences would be. And it’s possible that she thought that having British citizenship might protect her against those, however Iran does not recognise joint citizenship.

She wasn't a journalist though, was she? She worked for a charity, but not as a journalist.
OnlyInYourDreams · 02/05/2021 16:43

But regardless of the reasons, no country should ever be paying money to another for the return of a citizen. Ever. It sends out a terrible message that any country can arrest whoever they want and the government will pay for their release.

if she is going to be released, then that needs to happen irrespective (and before) any financial transactions are made.

The rest can be negotiated at a later date, but not in exchange for one person.

I’m not sure what to think of the husband’s decisions tbh, and I suspect that even if/when she is released we won’t have heard the last of it.

AntiHop · 02/05/2021 16:55

@OnlyInYourDreams

She wasn’t outspoken against the regime however she attended a protest against Iran as a journalist and Iranian citizens are banned from attending protests against the regime and as a journalist she will have known this.

While the punishment appears to have been disproportionate (in truth we have no idea whether she is innocent or not,) I think it’s fair to say that she made some unwise decisions and knew what the consequences would be. And it’s possible that she thought that having British citizenship might protect her against those, however Iran does not recognise joint citizenship.

Is that you, Boris?
MissyB1 · 02/05/2021 17:03

I suppose it’s possible that a secret deal is being done that will never be officially acknowledged? I really hope so.

I wish people would stop going on about ransoms. This was a debt.

yomommasmomma · 02/05/2021 17:05

@SweetPetrichor

That’s a lot of money to release one person. I’d question whether it’s a good use of funds.
And I would therefore question if you are capable of compassion.
Chatanooga1 · 02/05/2021 18:40

It’s not about not having compassion it’s about someone breaking the laws of another country and no matter how awful those laws are and how terrible and over the top the punishment is the fact is she is being punished under those laws just as someone from another country comes here and breaks our laws and we punish them.

We wouldn’t want another country trying to intimidate us because they don’t think our laws are fair!

The best thing this lady can do is do is keep her head down, do her time without any more fuss and ado and make them believe she is sorry and contrite and then get released when the year is up, come back to the UK and tell her side of the story if she disputes the accusations.

It’s clear she has done something and whether that merits the harsh punishment is of course debatable, but being Iranian she would know better than anyone that they do not suffer even the slightest of criticism.

vinoandbrie · 02/05/2021 18:46

This is untrue. She has done her time, been released, and has now been sentenced on yet more trumped up charges. This will go on and on until this debt is paid.

She has not broken any laws of any country. She is being held as a hostage. Dominic Raab acknowledged this only this morning.

Anyone who thinks she should just serve her time and then she’ll be released just like that is naive.

This is political, as Iran has acknowledged today by openly linking her release to the payment of the debt.

OnlyInYourDreams · 02/05/2021 18:52

I wish people would stop going on about ransoms. This was a debt. if it is paid in order to secure her release it will be seen as a ransom, whether it’s a debt or not.

MadameMinimes · 02/05/2021 18:56

@Chatanooga1 I think you should have taken a few minutes to familiarise yourself with this case before wading into this thread. She’s not broken any laws and wasn’t outspoken against the regime.
Just blithely saying “it’s clear she’s done something” in a case you patently know nothing about is ridiculous.

It looks like this has been misreported by the Iranian media, but even if it hasn’t and we are paying, then it’s only money we already owe.

OnlyInYourDreams · 02/05/2021 18:59

And I would therefore question if you are capable of compassion. This has nothing to do with a lack of compassion. But we are talking about one person here. A person who is only a UK citizen by marriage who has been alleged to have committed crimes in and against her country of origin.

How many other prisoners are there in prisons abroad whose release could be secured immediately by payment of a couple of hundred million quid?

If you pay to secure the release of one person then you open the flood gates.

Fact is we don’t know whether she is innocent. We don’t know whether she is guilty either. I do agree that as she’s served her sentence she should be released and I feel sorry for her as she is unlikely to ever see her Iranian family again, and she will be going home to a child who doesn’t even know her. She has a long way to go to rebuild her life sadly.

But that doesn’t mean I agree with the UK paying £400m for her release. The £400m should be paid if we owe it, but not under these circumstances.

Mistressinthetulips · 02/05/2021 23:17

Chattanooga you clearly have no knowledge of this case if you think that "keeping her head down" and serving this, additional, year will mean Nazanin returns home at the end of it.