Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has urged the UK government “not to turn a blind eye” to the fraught situation in her native Iran, where authorities are cracking down hard on protesters.
Widespread demonstrations against the regime are continuing across Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in custody last month. Men and women have taken to the streets to express their outrage at her death after she was detained by the country’s morality police for not wearing a hijab in accordance with government standards.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned in Iran for six years before her release earlier this year, said the recent events have brought back memories of her time behind bars at the hands of the Iranian regime.
The mother-of-one, a dual British-Iranian national, said she wants to see the Conservative government in London take a bolder stance against Tehran over human rights abuses.
“I want them to observe what is happening not to turn a blind eye,” she told Sky News.
“I want them to protect us.
“We cannot be indifferent about what is happening in Iran and if we talk about protecting rights of our citizens, we have to do something about it and I think we have to hold Iran accountable.
“The world has to make it very, very expensive for Iran to violate human rights so easily. It should be costly,” she said, adding that this should include sanctions.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe also said the events in Iran have brought back memories from her experience in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison and have exacerbated her nightmares.
“It does bring memories of when I was arrested but also how helpless you are when you are in custody,” she said.
In the wake of Ms Amini’s death, women in Iran burned their hijabs in public in a bold act of resistance against the hardline regime’s strict rules.
Across the world women cut their hair in protest against Iran’s law, which requires women and girls over the age of nine to wear a headscarf in public.
Oscar-winning actresses Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche were among those to put scissors to their locks as part of the movement of solidarity with the female protesters in Iran.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe also cut her hair, and described it as a “symbol of women getting more power about their body” that resonates throughout the world.
A spokesperson for the UK government said the Truss administration “has been very clear in condemning the violence levelled against peaceful protestors over the past three weeks”.
“The Foreign Office also summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK this week to call on the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint and respect the right to peaceful assembly,” they added.
“We have a tough set of sanctions in place against Iran and are looking at what further action we can take in the short term in response to human rights violations by the Iranian authorities.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
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How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
