LONDON: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe鈥檚 husband has criticized the British government鈥檚 handling of his wife鈥檚 detention in Tehran, and accused it of 鈥渉iding behind鈥� her dual Iranian-British nationality to downplay the situation.
Richard Ratcliffe said London鈥檚 approach had allowed 鈥渇ive years of abuse to fester.鈥� His wife鈥檚 five-year sentence for spying charges 鈥� which she denies 鈥� recently drew to an end, but fresh charges were leveled against her on Sunday.
Ratcliffe criticized the UK government for not sending a representative to the court hearing. 鈥淭he British government 鈥� for whatever reason 鈥� will not assert Nazanin鈥檚 Britishness and they keep on emphasizing that she鈥檚 a dual national, which I have to say looks like dog-whistle racism at points,鈥� he told the Evening Standard in a scathing interview.
鈥淭he UK hides behind dual nationality and makes Iran鈥檚 arguments for it 鈥� always insisting that Iran doesn鈥檛 recognize dual nationality. It鈥檚 frankly irrelevant what Iran recognizes 鈥� it鈥檚 what the UK is willing to do to protect its citizens,鈥� he added.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a kind of victim blaming that comes with focusing on her dual nationality, as though it鈥檚 her fault that she happens to have a second passport.鈥�
Comparing the UK鈥檚 handling of his wife鈥檚 detention with how the US approaches similar situations, Ratcliffe said: 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have A-list real Americans and B-list dual national Americans, whereas the UK is very emphatic in emphasizing dual nationality at the point at which it doesn鈥檛 need to. It鈥檚 gratuitous to a point. There are ways in which it downplays what is going on.鈥� 
He added: 鈥淲hy are they not every day knocking on the prison door to go and visit Nazanin?鈥�
The UK Foreign Office has said it is applying pressure on Iran for her acquittal, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Tehran of deliberately putting her through a 鈥渃ruel and inhumane ordeal.鈥�
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 鈥淲e are doing all we can to help Nazanin and other dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran. It is unacceptable and unjustifiable that Iran has chosen to continue with this second, wholly arbitrary, case against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. She must be allowed to return to her family in the UK without further delay.鈥�