PM condemns online abuse towards Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who returned to Britain after being jailed for six years in an Iran detention (only to be freed once the UK had settled in £400m debt with Iran) has faced online abuse.
She came under attack from Internet trolls after criticising the speed at which the UK was able to bring her home – saying it should have happened ‘six years ago.’
Great to see both Anoosheh and Nazanin in such good spirits. An emotional moment for both families as they welcome them home. pic.twitter.com/ewtFeaYJ1s
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) March 17, 2022
And now Downing Street has condemned the online trolling.
The PM’s spokesperson told reporters: “Clearly, someone who has been through this sort of ordeal, as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, should not have to face any sort of abuse, social media or otherwise.
“She has been through an unimaginable ordeal, and we are extremely pleased that she is now reunited with her family.
“As a UK citizen, someone in a free and democratic country, she is rightly able to voice her opinion on any topic she wishes.”
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard gave a press conference yesterday. “I have seen five foreign secretary changes over the course of six years. That is unprecedented given the politics of the UK,” she said.
“But I was told, many many times, ‘We’re going to get you home.’ That never happened. So there was a time when I felt like, do you know what, I’m not even going to trust you because I’ve been told so many times that I’m going to be taken home. But that never happened!
Following the press conference, online trolls labelled her as “ungrateful” and key phrases such as “send her back” started trending on Twitter – as users say she should be more grateful for official efforts to free her.
But former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said Nazanin “doesn’t owe us gratitude: we owe her an explanation.”
Those criticizing Nazanin have got it so wrong. She doesn’t owe us gratitude: we owe her an explanation…
— Sir Jeremy Hunt MP (@Jeremy_Hunt) March 22, 2022
Hunt said there should be an independent investigation into why it has taken so long to secure the freedom of Nazanin and other dual nationals.
“This kind of open scrutiny as to whether we could do things better is what happens in democratic, open societies,” he said. “It may be something they don’t welcome in places like Iran and Russia but it is why, ultimately, we are wiser and stronger.”
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe press conference – ‘I shouldn’t have been jailed for six years’
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe finally reunited with family in UK as ‘new life’ beckons
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