UK in denial over hostage-taking by foreign states, says Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: ‘The government has a moral duty of care for each and every citizen who is arbitrarily detained abroad.’ Photograph: Victoria Jones/AFP/Getty Images

The UK government is in denial about the extent of hostage-taking by foreign states and has failed to fulfil its promise to appoint a special envoy to combat the problem, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was kept in an Iranian jail for six years on bogus espionage charges until her release in March 2022, was speaking at a conference dedicated to eradicating the growing international practice of hostage-taking.