THE lawyer acting for charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is confident her temporary release from prison in Iran will be extended beyond three days, her husband said.
The British-Iranian mother was released from Evin jail in Tehran on Thursday and is staying with family outside the capital until tomorrow.
Reunited with her four-year-old daughter Gabriella after more than two years in jail, her husband Richard Ratcliffe said the family was “all well and happy” after speaking to them yesterday.
On a visit to Edinburgh, Ratcliffe said he expects to hear today whether an application to extend the three days’ leave will be granted.
He said yesterday: “Her lawyer is very confident that it will be extended.
“I think we’ll know by lunchtime today.
“I would expect that if it is extended, that it’s extended for a couple of weeks.”
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, from Hampstead, north London, was sentenced to five years in jail after being accused of using a BBC Persian online journalism course to train and recruit people for anti-Iran propaganda.
She denies the allegation and said she was on holiday in Iran to allow her daughter to spend time with relatives there.
Gabriella has been staying with family since Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was detained at Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016.
Ratcliffe, who will attend two Edinburgh Fringe shows featuring his wife’s case, said: “I spoke to her this morning, she’s very happy.
“She’s given Gabriella a bath and dried her hair, and brushed her hair.
“I think she’d really been looking forward to doing that.”
He said his wife had seen media coverage about her temporary release, and was pleased to see the Iranian ambassador to the UK had tweeted a picture of mother and daughter as they were reunited.
Ratcliffe said: “It’s great for Nazanin today to be seeing all the news attention and realise how much care there is out there.”
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday the temporary release was “extremely positive” and called on Iranian authorities to allow her to return to her family in the UK.
At the Edinburgh Fringe this weekend the play Nazanin’s Story is being staged, and The Secret Policeman’s Podcast, an Amnesty International benefit, will also focus on her case.
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