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.”
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
New schools in Dubai
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
