Nazanin is on her way home. 

Soon after I started working at Change.org I met someone called Richard. His wife, Nazanin, had just been arrested on her way home to the UK from Iran, where she was visiting family. Richard didn’t know what to do - no one was listening to him. So he started this petition. That was more than six years ago.

Nazanin has spent the last six years wrongly imprisoned. Richard has spent the last six years fighting to reunite his family.

Richard’s bravery in telling Nazanin’s story, when politicians were telling him not to, caught the attention of millions of Change.org users, journalists and politicians around the world. Nazanin’s story resonated with everyone - a mum, a wife, a friend, torn away from her life and wrongly locked up. 

Their story inspired more than 3.7 million of you to join his #FreeNazanin campaign and to take part in countless actions from writing to MPs, sending messages of support to Nazanin, downloading songs calling for her freedom, travelling thousands of miles to stand with Richard on hunger strike. 

Their story inspired other families in similar situations to speak out and share their stories too. People like Sherry, whose husband Anoosheh was also wrongfully imprisoned in Iran five years ago. They also started petitions, bravely spoke to the media, and protested for his freedom. Today, Nazanin and Anoosheh are finally on a plane, with their British passports, on their way home. 

Today is a reminder that anything is possible when people like you come together to shine a light on injustice and shout loudly for change. Together, people like you kept Nazanin and Anoosheh’s stories in the spotlight and kept up the pressure on politicians for their release. I’m so proud to tell you that it’s worked. 

I’m overwhelmed that 6 years after starting this journey, I can finally say, thank you for bringing Nazanin back home.

Thank you,

Pascale Frazer-Carroll
UK Director, Change.org