Nazanin is free but other hostages remain in Iran | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY

During the early hours of Thursday morning 17th March 2022, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe arrived back home in the UK. She was freed after being held hostage in Iran for almost 6 years. She’s a British citizen and a charity worker from West Hampstead, London. She was arrested by the Iranian IRGC on 3 April 2016 when she was on holiday in Tehran visiting her elderly parents with her one year old daughter, Gabriella. Almost six years later, three members of Nazanin’s family were there to greet her at the Royal Air Force base when she landed – her husband Richard Ratcliffe who’s campaigned tirelessly for her freedom and has been on this podcast many times, her now seven year old daughter Gabriella and Nazanin’s younger brother, Mohammad Zaghari.

Mohammad is one of the unsung heroes of the FreeNazanin campaign. He was in Tehran with Nazanin’s parents when she was arrested. He helped raise Gabriella for the three years she was in Iran separated from both parents. He brought Gabriella back to the UK in 2019 and had to leave his entire life in Iran behind because it was no longer safe for him to return home.

On this week’s episode, we have the honour of speaking to Mohammad himself. He talks about Nazanin coming back home and what it was like to be reunited with her after all these years. Mohammad also talks about dealing with the Iranian authorities when Nazanin was taken, the trauma he experienced, visiting her in prison with Gabriella, the pressure the IRGC puts on the families, the threats, life in the UK, the long recovery journey ahead and what’s next for him.

We also talk about the other hostages left behind in Iran, going public and Richard’s amazing campaigning. You’ll also hear voice messages from the loved ones of Nahid Taghavi, Jamshid Sharmahd, Fariba Adelkhah and Kamran Ghaderi – all innocent individuals from Germany, France and Austria still held in Iran. Their loved ones talk about how happy they are for Nazanin and her family as well as what needs to be done to Free Nahid, Free Jamshid, Free Fariba and Free Kamran.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please check out the following:

• Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10, Ep 12, Ep 13, Ep 14
• FreeNazanin petition
• FreeNazanin Twitter account
• Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin

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Chapters

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Nazanin’s release (00:00:48)

3. Nazanin’s story (00:07:23)

4. Responding to Nazanin’s arrest while living in Iran (00:13:54)

5. Visiting Nazanin in prison (00:19:37)

6. IRGC threats (00:25:54)

7. Taking care of Gabriella (00:28:43)

8. Leaving Iran and not being able to go back (00:32:18)

9. Life in the UK (00:34:57)

10. What’s next? (00:37:05)

11. Other hostages left behind (00:38:03)

12. Thank you from Mohammad (00:42:44)

13. Go public with your case, campaign publicly (00:43:34)

14. Free Nahid, Free Jamshid, Free Fariba and Free Kamran (00:48:15)