NAZANIN Zaghari-Ratcliffe has spoken of the final few days of her captivity in Iran, saying that she was made to sign a 'false confession’ while a UK Government witness was present.
During an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour, Zaghari-Ratcliffe told of how she was forced to sign the confession on tape in order to return home to her husband, Richard, and daughter, Gabriella, which she now fears will be used maliciously against her in the future.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Iranian captives told her that part of the terms of her release were that the UK had finally settled an outstanding debt of £400m, which allegedly dates back to the 1970s.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe says that on the day of her release she was taken directly to the airport, bypassing a visit to her parents in Iran which she expected prior to returning to the UK. Upon arriving at the airport, she allegedly was made to sign the confession prior to boarding the government aircraft.
A spokesperson for the UK Government said: “Iran put Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe through a horrendous ordeal, right up to the moment she left the country.”
Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin’s husband, said: “I think there are lessons to learn, there is a wider problem.
“We talked about the mistakes made at the end. It was rough at the end, and I think, when Nazanin is ready to talk about it, that is something that we need to go through.”
Nazanin said she has been left with a sense of anxiety about what the future of the invalid confession holds, questioning what they have to achieve in making her sign it, but has said that: “It’s a tool. So I’m sure they will show that some day.”
