The young daughter of British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe wrote to the British prime minister seeking to have her mother returned from Iran as her family prepares to spend a fifth Christmas apart.
"Dear Boris Johnson, please can you bring my mummy home for Christmas," said Gabriella, 6, in her Christmas card to the British leader. "She has been good."
The request features in a joint video plea for government action featuring the adult daughter of another British-Iranian inmate, Anoosheh Ashoori, 66, who is serving a 10-year jail term on what his supporters say are fabricated charges of spying for Israel.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, was detained in April 2016 as she prepared to head home from Iran after visiting her parents with Gabriella, who was a year old at the time. She was convicted at a secret trial and accused of seeking to bring down the Iranian regime.
Her family say she is being held as a hostage by the Iranian regime as part of a broader diplomatic struggle over a £400-million arms debt owed by the UK that dates back to the 1970s.
Gabriella features with Elika,28 years her senior and the daughter of Mr Ashoori , in a video produced by Amnesty International in which they reveal their pain over the continued absence of their parents.
Gabriella, who returned home to the UK last year, says in the video that she finds it hard to draw her mother on her Christmas card and asks her father what colour her eyes are. She says she most misses her mother at night "because I cry about it" and wants her home.
“When she comes back, I want to cuddle her first and then go to the toy shop,” she said in the video message.
Mr Ashoori also appeals for British prisoners not to be forgotten in the telephone call from Evin prison. He has been kept behind bars despite a mass prison release because of fears over the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through Iran’s prison system.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was freed from jail in March and is at her parents’ home subject to recall to prison. She has to wear an electronic tag to prevent her from leaving the country.
She is due for release in April next year but faces further charges, which could extend her time in prison.
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
Leaderboard
64 - Gavin Green (MAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
65 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
66 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Ross Fisher (ENG), Aaron Rai (ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL)
67 - Dustin Johnson (USA), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Joost Luiten (NED), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
68 - Alexander Bjork (SWE), Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Adrian Meronk (POL), David Howell (ENG), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Sean Crocker (USA), Scott Hend (AUS), Justin Harding (RSA), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Renato Paratore (ITA)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
