Dear Supporters
Following the wonderful release after 3 years of US scholar Xiyue Wang, who had been sentenced to 10 years on spying charges and was incarcerated in Evin Prison, we wondered why the UK government has not had any success in releasing any of its nationals including Anoosheh and Nazanin, despite having friendly relations with the Iranian government. We believe that an independent negotiator is needed who can act as a liaison between the two countries, much like the Americans do and get results. I have written the following letter to FM Dominic Raab, to which I have yet to receive a response. Please kindly read, share, and sign the petition, so our families won't have to spend yet another Xmas apart. Thank you all and have a very Merry Christmas.
"Dear Foreign Minister
On 18 September 2019, my family and I had a meeting with you in the House of Commons to discuss the ongoing case of my husband Anoosheh Ashoori, who has been arbitrarily detained in Iran since 13 August 2017. As we get closer to the third Christmas that we shall spend apart yet again, I reflect wistfully on all the happy and sad occasions we have shared together and all the time we have lost over the past 849 days; time that can never be brought back.
On that day, you promised that you would do absolutely everything in your power to get my husband released. There are now more British/Iranian dual nationals imprisoned in Iran than any other time. We expressed our concern that dual nationality has always been a double-edged sword. The British passport is not recognised by the Iranian authorities, yet it is the very reason that my husband and the likes of him have been taken hostage by the regime in Iran, and the Iranian passport is always the elephant in the room, albeit unacknowledged. Although you reassured us that you regard Anoosheh as British as any other citizen, we were told that to obtain diplomatic protection, we would need to provide proof of his "Britishness." There is always an underlying sentiment that dual nationals are a form of second-class citizen; caught in a kind of permanent purgatory. Neither truly British as they have not been born here, nor truly Iranian because they emigrated from their country and swore allegiance to the laws of this country.
The British government's behaviour in failing to recognise the arbitrary detention of its citizens as a form of hostage-taking only serves to undermine the real motive behind these acts; namely, Iran's desire to use these innocent individuals to gain concessions that are otherwise denied to it. A brief look at the history of the Islamic Revolution will make it abundantly clear that the policy of hostage-taking has been pursued by the Iranian regime since the beginning; sometimes for the purpose of prisoner exchanges and at other times for money. After Foreign Minister Zarif's many blatant allusions to Iran's readiness for conducting prisoner exchanges, countries whose politicians were sufficiently pro-active took the hint and embarked on negotiations that resulted in the release of a detained Australian and British/Australian couple, who had been imprisoned in Iran for 40 days, and more recently, in the release of Xiyue Wang, an American scholar, who had been detained and imprisoned in Iran since August 2016.
Dear Mr Raab, I am certain that the irony of this situation is not lost on you. Iran and the United States have had no formal relations for 40 years, and any hopes of a rapprochement sparked by the JCPOA were dashed by the election of President Donald Trump and his avowal to exercise the policy of maximum pressure on Iran. Relations between the two countries are at an all-time low and several months ago, the two were almost on the brink of war. Nonetheless, they have negotiated and released two people, who were both unfairly treated and detained, but have now been sent back to the arms of their desperate families. How is it that the UK, whose leader was seen chatting away and laughing with President Ruhani, like long-lost friends who have at last been reunited (much like what our families will do when we finally see our loved ones back), has not had even a smidgen of success in securing anyone's release? President Trump tweeted that "we will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran … back home to their loved ones." Please note the use of the word "American" and not dual national; ironically by a President who is not generally known for his love of Iranians or foreigners in general. Foreign Minister Zarif tweeted today that "after getting our hostage back this week, [we are] fully ready for comprehensive prisoner exchange." Could this be an implicit signal to the UK that the same could be achieved for British hostages? Although what could the UK government possibly offer in return for getting its citizens back? Let us remember that Iran has been pursuing a military debt that the UK has to Iran. You told us Mr Raab that "there must be good faith on all sides" for this problem to be resolved. What better sign of good faith than honouring your country's debt and putting an end to 40 years of legal wrangling and obfuscation? Iran's strategy of fulfilling its objectives is wrong and despicable but is the UK's refusal to honour its legal commitment and debt any less reprehensible?
In our meeting, we told you that it is neither our job to find a solution to political problems nor are we qualified to do so, which is why we have elections and appoint individuals to do this on our behalf. Let me make a suggestion that may help resolve this impasse. Just as the United States appointed someone as a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to deal with these recurring situations and to negotiate successfully, maybe Britain too should adopt a similar measure and appoint a law expert, who is not politically affiliated to any of the parties, to negotiate with regimes that take hostages. There are numerous committees, envoys and representatives for various causes. Why not dedicate someone in Whitehall specifically to this task, whose sole duty would be to navigate the waters and to act as an intermediary between governments. It is clear that the involvement of different Whitehall departments, all with their own agendas, has resulted in an incoherent approach and an abject failure in terms of practical outcome. The US Envoy Richard O'Brien was instrumental in getting Xiyue Wang released and swapped with Iranian Scientist Masoud Soleymani. Why should we not adopt the same model?
The final question is this Mr Raab: Does the UK government truly wish to bring these "dual nationals" back to their families, or is it another empty promise given to mollify hurt and angry human beings, whose only crime is that they were not born British?
Yours sincerely
Sherry Izadi"