Crime & Justice

Zaghari-Ratcliffe back in court for new Iran trial

Tehran, Mar 14 (efe-epa).- British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on Sunday appeared in court in Tehran to face fresh charges a week after she completed five years in jail.

Lawyer Hojjat Kermani told Iranian news website Emtedad that the trial over the charge of “propaganda against the system” was held at branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, adding that he was very hopeful Zaghari-Ratcliffe would be acquitted.

“The trial was held in a calm atmosphere with the presence of my client,” Kermani explained.

The 42-year-old dual national is accused of “propaganda against the system” for taking part in a demonstration against the re-election of former conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad outside the Iranian embassy in London in 2009.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanded the “immediate release” of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, telling Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that her continued detention in Iran was “completely unacceptable.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked as a project manager for the charity Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested for crimes against state security in 2016 when she was visiting her family in Tehran.

She was released after her sentence ended last week and had her house arrest orders and ankle tag removed.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case sparked outrage in the UK and was condemned by the British government and Amnesty International.

Both Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the Thomson Reuters Foundation denied the charges that led to the five-year sentence.EFE-EPA

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