Theresa May to call for release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe during meeting with Iran's president

Theresa May will make a personal plea today to the president of Iran to free jailed mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on “humanitarian grounds”.

The London charity worker and mother of one is serving a five-year sentence in Tehran after being arrested by Iranian Revolutionary Guards for spying, a charge she denies.

The Prime Minister is due to meet President Hassan Rouhani for face-to-face talks in New York where they are both attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Ms May is due to express serious concern at Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ongoing detention and call for her to be released on humanitarian grounds.

A Government spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with Nazanin and her friends and family who have campaigned tirelessly for her release.

“Our consular cases in Iran, including that of Nazanin, are a top priority for this government.”

The 39-year-old from Hampstead, was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 after a holiday with her daughter Gabriella.

The dual British-Iranian national was separated from her daughter, now four, and was jailed for allegedly conspiring against the Iranian regime.

She has spent time in solitary confinement and now lives on a political prisoners wing in the jail, notorious for its poor treatment of prisoners.

The Prime Minister’s face-to-face meeting with President Rouhani today comes after former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made earlier requests for her release. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also taken up her case.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard, who has been leading a national campaign for his wife’s release, is also in New York today.

Hampstead & Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq said: “Over the past two-and-a-half years, we have seen Nazanin’s health deteriorate. She is a shell of the person who arrived in Evin prison in April 2016.”

A cancelled arms deal worth £400 million between the UK and Iran is often cited by campaigners as the context for the regime still detaining her.