Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s temporary release from an Iranian prison has been extended again, her MP has said.
The British-Iranian mother was temporarily freed from Evin prison in Tehran in response to the global spread of coronavirus.
In mid-April, MP Tulip Siddiq said her furlough had been extended for one month, in line with other prisoners in Iran.
On Wednesday the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn said that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's furlough has been extended again.
She wrote on Twitter: “Just spoken with Richard Ratcliffe – Nazanin’s furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today.
“This uncertainty is causing her and her family unimaginable stress. The Government must step up efforts to make sure her furlough is made permanent.”
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.
She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.
She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.
Yesterday Labour's Emily Thornberry said she lit a candle for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been apart from her family for four years.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been living in relative isolation at her parents’ house in Tehran while the country gets to grips with the outbreak.
She has to wear an ankle tag during the furlough, and can only go within a 300-metre range of her parents’ home.
