The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has condemned the “profoundly unfair imprisonment” of a British academic jailed for life in the United Arab Emirates for spying – saying his “heart goes out” to the family.
Richard Ratcliffe has expressed his support for PhD student Matthew Hedges following his sentencing to life imprisonment in the Arab state on Wednesday.
The Durham University academic denies spying and said he was in the country conducting research on the UAE’s security strategy for his PhD thesis when he was arrested at Dubai airport on May 5.
His wife, Daniela Tejada, has accused the British government of putting UK interests above the jailed academic’s right to freedom.
But after meeting Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in London on Thursday, she softened her stance slightly and thanked the Foreign Office for “now standing up for one of its citizens”.
Asked whether he supported Tejada’s position, Ratcliffe told HuffPost UK: “Yes. I wish the government had come out strongly saying Nazanin was innocent much sooner. I understand why they wouldn’t want to do that on day one, there is a whole process they have to work out.
“But when it’s a completely spurious political case, which certainly Matthew’s has always felt like, then it’s a conspicuous omission if the government don’t do that. In Nazanin’s case, the government has now done that and we’re profoundly grateful to Jeremy Hunt for doing it.”
Ratcliffe, who has campaigned tirelessly for his wife’s freedom since she was jailed in Iran in 2016, said Hedges was “clearly innocent” and the government should act swiftly and publicly.
“I’ve met Daniela a couple of times and obviously our heart goes out to her because it’s really tough for her, and there is a similarity in the stories,” Ratcliffe told HuffPost.
“They are obviously different countries and different circumstances, but it is still a profoundly unfair imprisonment and incredibly distressing for the family involved.”
“Obviously I see the resonances,” he continued. “At the basic level, this is a British citizen being unfairly held and being accused of stuff they haven’t done in a way that just seems extraordinary and the government being quite cautious in how it responds in a way that also seems extraordinary. I think it’s clear that we’re not alone.”
He said the PhD student’s wife was “obviously distraught”, adding that Tejada’s original criticisms of the Foreign Office would be “coming from a real sense of injustice”.
The Middle Eastern studies specialist, originally from Exeter, is accused of spying on behalf of the British Government and was sentenced to life imprisonment in a five-minute hearing at an Abu Dhabi court on Wednesday.
He has been held in solitary confinement for more than five-and-a-half months, during which time his “mental and physical health has seriously deteriorated”.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is “deeply disappointed and concerned” about the case and the foreign secretary has threatened the UAE with “serious diplomatic consequences” if leaders do not reconsider.
Hunt said consular officials had been in contact with Hedges’ family and added he was “deeply shocked” at the verdict, having personally raised the case with the UAE government.
“I have repeatedly made clear that the handling of this case by the UAE authorities will have repercussions for the relationship between our two countries, which has to be built on trust,” he said.
Hunt added that his department will do “all we can” to bring Hedges home over and said the UAE has shared no evidence with the UK to back up the charges.
The academic’s wife has vocally protested his innocence, saying: “The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them.
“This whole case has been handled appallingly from the very beginning with no one taking Matthew’s case seriously. The British government must take a stand now for Matthew, one of their citizens.”
Richard Ratcliffe also continues to fight for the release of his wife, who was on holiday visiting family in Iran when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Nazanin, 39, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for “allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian regime” and has spent significant periods in solitary confinement.
The foreign secretary met Nazanin’s daughter Gabriella, who has been stranded with her grandparent in Iran since her mother’s arrest, in Tehran on Monday.
“I spoke to Nazanin on Tuesday,” her husband said. “Jeremy Hunt saw Gabriella on Monday, so the phone call was really for me just to tell her what happened about his meeting and to say listen, he was very caring and reassuring. He clearly was putting pressure, he clearly said no child should be separated from their mother, and it was that straight forward.
“And yes, we were hoping for a big break through, it doesn’t look like that’s happened, but it really feels like it can. She was obviously on tenterhooks and just waiting for some news. She remains reassured but probably not reassured for very long. She is just waiting for something to happen.”
He said that overwhelming public support continues to give Nazanin hope.
Sympathising with the pressure Hedges’ wife will currently be under, he said: “Daniela has been quite critical and quite forthright in her anger and frustration and the things she has said are the sort of things we said back in the day.
“I think the Foreign Office is always very cautious and very careful and it is reluctant to escalate the case but also reluctant to share all that it is doing, which can lead to you feeling when you’re desperate that the government doesn’t have your back and certainly I’ve said at points that I didn’t feel the government was doing all it should be doing.”
He continued: “In a situation like this, which is an unfair imprisonment, where they’re claiming he is a spy and a government operative and he clearly isn’t, you look to the government to say ’Listen this is not true, this is not fair, he’s innocent’.”
Referring to his wife’s case, he added: “One of the things that has been great about Jeremy Hunt is that actually this week in Tehran he said exactly that, that Nazanin is an innocent person, that she shouldn’t be imprisoned and stop holding her and using her as leverage. But it took a long time to get that said that clearly.”