Jailed Brit Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe can be seen beaming and dressed in
the colours of the Ukraine flag as she sits on the plane that will
return her home to the UK after six long years in an Iranian jail.
The British-Iranian mum-of-one, who had her passport returned yesterday after six years in a “hell hole” prison outside of Tehran, will be reunited with her daughter and husband later tonight.She can be seen with a massive smile, a yellow dress and a blue headscarf draped around her shoulders while sitting on the UK-charter flight that is expected to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Her local MP Tulip Siddiq tweeted: “Nazanin’s plane took off from Oman just over half an hour ago and she’s due to arrive in the UK this evening.
“Here she is on the plane – the final step in what has been a six year long ordeal.”
The 44-year-old was initially taken to Oman, the Gulf state reportedly involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations to secure her release.
British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in this selfie picture taken from an unknown location today
A tweet posted by Badr Albusaidi shows Nazanin and Anoosheh Ashoori, arriving in Oman after their release
Her husband Richard Ratcliffe said he was “deeply grateful” for her release and that he and their daughter Gabriella were “looking forward to a new life”.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in the Middle East for nearly six years after being arrested while taking her daughter to see her family.
She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, which she denied.
Labour’s Tulip Siddiq, the family’s local MP, confirmed the news in
tweet: “Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. I came
into politics to make a difference, and right now I’m feeling like I
have.”
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen posing for a photograph with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella
Free Nazanin campaign/AFP via Ge)
Siddiq earlier said she had been told from husband Richard Ratcliffe that Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran but “still under the authority of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard”.
He told her “they can smell freedom, they just haven’t grasped it yet”
The family’s lawyer Hojjat Kermani said she had been freed alongside Anousheh Ashoori, following talks between London and Tehran over a £400million debt between the UK and Iranian governments.
“Both of them are on their way to the airport in Tehran to leave Iran,” Kermani said.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “I can confirm Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori will return to the UK today, and Morad Tahbaz has been released from prison on furlough. They will be reunited with their families later today.”
A statement from Truss continued: “Their release is the result of years of hard work and dedication by our brilliant diplomats, and intensive efforts over the past six months.
“I pay tribute to my predecessors and the Prime Minister, who have all worked hard to resolve this issue.
“We have the deepest admiration for the resolve, courage and determination Nazanin, Anoosheh and Morad, and their families, have shown. They have faced hardship that no family should ever experience and this is a moment of great relief.
“In parallel, we have also settled the IMS debt, as we said we would.”
Iranian state media said the UK had “settled a long-overdue debt” of around £400 million to Tehran.
This morning, BBC news reader Joanna Gosling become emotional as she broke the news of Zaghari-Ratcliffe release live on air.
Source: dailynet.co.uk
