Good afternoon all

I write to you after an agonising six weeks of silence whilst our appeal was reviewed by the Iraqi appeals court in Baghdad. With good news.

For the first time since March 20th, Leila, Josh, Sarijah and I are smiling without irony. We were informed this morning that the appeals court has decided to quash the verdict of the Felony Court, to fully recognise Jim's innocence in this case, and to process his immediate release from a 15 year prison sentence in Baghdad. We understand that this process is underway - he is still in prison this evening but will soon be released.

We will not be doing any press interviews or elaborating at all about the situation until he is home, as we don't want to inflame the wrong groups or put him at any risk. Once he is home, we will celebrate and take some time to recover as a family, and will be happy to tell the story to anyone who will listen.

For now we felt it was important to communicate with you, our dear supporters who have kept us going throughout this process. 350,000 strong, you have helped to keep our spirits up, to keep the story in the press and public eye, to keep pressure on the British government and authorities in Iraq to recognise this injustice, and ultimately to send him home to us where he belongs. We can never summon the words to thank you as much as we want to. Just know that small actions such as signing a petition to support those suffering a grave injustice can really, really make a difference.

We hope to be able to update you all more in the coming days - for now, as ever, thank you for your unwavering support.

Sam