February 07 2020
Richard Ratcliffe and his five-year-old daughter Gabriella met Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment in Tehran, which continues after nearly four years.
Ratcliffe and his daughter met the men at the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street January 23 as he sought to boost the pressure to free his wife, who has been detained since 2016.
Ratcliffe last met Johnson when he was foreign secretary in 2017.
Clutching his daughter’s hand, Ratcliffe told reporters: “In truth, no breakthrough,” when exiting the second meeting.
“I think there remains that gap between my sense that the government needs to be tougher with Iran, alongside improving relations generally, and the Foreign Office instinct to not have things escalate.”
Ratcliffe added: “I don’t stand here hopeful, if I’m honest. I stand here with my wife still in prison and things aren’t moving.”
Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is among as many as five people with dual British-Iranian nationality, or with UK connections, believed to be in prison in Iran.
