The UK has condemned the sentencing by a Tehran court of 64-year-old British-Iranian citizen Mehran Raoof on what his supporters say are trumped up charges.
Mr Raoof was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on national security charges by an Iranian Revolutionary Court earlier this week. German-Iranian citizen Nahid Taghavi, 66, was given a similar sentence.
“We strongly condemn the sentence given to Mehran Raoof. We continue to do all we can to support Mehran and his family, and continue to raise his case at the most senior levels,” a UK foreign office spokesman said.
Mr Raoof’s lawyer Mostafa Nili said the court jailed the pair for “10 years in prison for participating in the management of an illegal group and to eight months in prison for propaganda activities against the regime.”
They were first arrested last October.
Both had both been detained for long periods in solitary confinement at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison before the trial.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
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A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
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