Former Foreign Secretary calls for ‘relentless diplomatic focus’ on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Following news that jailed British-Iranian aid worker, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has lost her appeal against a second jail sentence in Iran, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is calling “for renewed & relentless diplomatic focus from our govt” on the situation.

Tweeting yesterday, Mr Hunt said: “Heartbreaking news. We know Nazanin is innocent, the Iranian govt knows she is innocent so why are they continuing to destroy a young family? Time for renewed & relentless diplomatic focus from our govt and some long overdue soul-searching by an evil regime”.

The present foreign secretary, Liz Truss, described the loss of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s appeal as an “appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through”.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since 3 April 2016. She was sentenced to five years in prison in early September 2016 after being found guilty of “plotting to topple the Iranian government”. The campaign for Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release, fronted by her husband Richard Ratcliffe, has been a feature of Iranian-UK diplomatic relations ever since.