Dominic Raab attacks Iran over 'unjustifiable' second trial for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Iran's "cruel and inhumane" treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is "unacceptable and unjustified", foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said, after a court on Sunday told her she must wait a week to hear a verdict on a second "arbitrary" set of charges.

Mz Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen, was arrested in Iran five years ago on dubious spying charges and completed her sentence last week. But Iran refused to allow her to return to Britain, and has instead subjected her to yet more court proceedings, in a move that has frustrated campaigners and the British government.

At a 20 minute hearing in Tehran's revolutionary court on Sunday morning, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was told that she would receive a verdict within a week on charges of spreading propaganda against the regime. The judge told her this was the final hearing on the charges.

Responding to the hearing, Mr Raab said: "It is unacceptable and unjustifiable that Iran has chosen to continue with this second, wholly arbitrary, case against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The Iranian government has deliberately put her through a cruel and inhumane ordeal."

According to her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, during the hearing Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe pointed out that all of the evidence that had been put forward had already been used in her previous trial in 2016. She also reiterated her strong denial of the charge on spreading propaganda.

"While the charges are not particularly relevant, since the point of reviving this case again last week was simply to hold Nazanin for leverage as negotiations with the UK have intensified, it is worth clarifying that no new accusations were made today," Mr Ratcliffe said.

"Since the [British] Embassy was unable to attend, we will be looking to the Foreign Secretary to condemn this trial as illegitimate. Secret trials are against international law, even aside from diplomatic protection," said Mr Ratcliffe, adding that it was a "missed opportunity" to challenge the abuse of British hostages.

Mr Ratcliffe said his wife had been told by her lawyer that he was "unable to read what level of sentence she could expect" and that they would have to "just wait and see".

"The length of her detention going forwards remains unknown. It might be over soon, it might become much heavier. It remains open-ended. In short, she remains a hostage of the state of Iran," Mr Ratcliffe said.

On Wednesday Boris Johnson spoke with Iranian prime minister Hassan Rouhani. According to the British government, he stressed the importance of the immediate release of Nazanin and other dual-nationals Brits. In Iranian news, the call was read as Rouhani calling for the payment of the 1970s British debt - which Nazanin's family say she is being held hostage over.

“Nazanin is once again stuck in limbo and spending yet another Mother’s Day away from her husband and daughter," said Nazanin's local MP, Tulip Siddiq.

“I am relieved that the Court process is finished. I hope it is all done. I hope I’m not going to see them all again, and that this is the end," the statement from her family quoted Nazanin as saying.

"I was so stressed this past week. By the end I just couldn’t do anything. I didn’t want to go outside. I am glad that today I could keep calm. I’ve promised my sister we can go out to a bakery for a coffee. All we can do is wait.”