FiLiA charity is organising a Women’s Solidarity Action to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from prison in Iran.
Nazanin has been in prison for more than five years. Yesterday was her birthday; another birthday she's spent separated from her husband and her seven-year-old daughter.
FiLiA say:
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 37-year-old charity worker and British citizen holding dual Iranian nationality, was on holiday visiting her family in Iran when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. She has been held in Tehran for more than five-and-a-half years on bogus accusations of spying. Successive Conservative foreign secretaries, including Boris Johnson, have promised and failed to secure her freedom.
filia.org.uk/solidarity-action-freenazanin
As many here will know, back in October her husband Richard began a public hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in London - his second hunger strike since she was detained - as part of his continued fight for Nazanin's release. He went without food for 21 days, but he had to stop there because he needs to remain well enough to care for their daughter, Gabriella.
Inspired by Margaret Owen's strike in solidarity with Richard, FiLiA is now organising the continuation of Richard Ratcliffe’s hunger strike in the form of a fasting relay.
Lisa-Marie Taylor, the chief executive of FiLiA, said, “Richard has made it clear he doesn’t want people to get poorly,” she said. “So we thought we’d organise a chain of women to each fast for a day to keep the pressure on the government and show Nazanin how much support she has from women in the UK and globally.”
Today is day eight, and Julie Bindel has taken the baton.
The Guardian reports that Participants in FiLiA’s campaign will be asked to email their MP with two demands. First, for Boris Johnson to fulfil his promise that Britain would repay the £400m it owed Iran for an unfulfilled 1970s arms deal, which is seen as precondition for the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other detainees. Second, for a judicial review to be launched to investigate why the debt has not been paid.
From: www.theguardian.com/news/2021/dec/20/women-stage-global-fast-to-pressure-uk-over-nazanin-zagari-ratcliffe
This is something that we can all do, too. If you go here, there is a list of things we can do to support the campaign to free Nazanin.
filia.org.uk/solidarity-action-freenazanin