UK-Iranian Prisoner in Tehran ‘Marked for Early Release’

Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. Ratcliffe Family Handout via REUTERS
Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. Ratcliffe Family Handout via REUTERS
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UK-Iranian Prisoner in Tehran ‘Marked for Early Release’

Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. Ratcliffe Family Handout via REUTERS
Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. Ratcliffe Family Handout via REUTERS

British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is serving a five-year jail sentence in Tehran for her alleged participation in a protest, could be due for early release, her husband has said.

Richard Ratcliffe told AFP on Thursday that his wife had received notification from her Iranian lawyer that she was now "marked for early release.”

"I'm reasonably positive. It's not clear how good the news is, but it's definitely good news," he said.

"He (lawyer) said there's still paperwork to finalize, but it should be over soon -- days to weeks, not months or years."

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is serving five years for taking part in mass protests in 2009, which she denies.

She was arrested at Tehran airport on April 3, 2016, after visiting relatives with her young daughter, AFP said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson lobbied for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release on humanitarian grounds during a trip to Iran earlier this month.



EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
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EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

The European Union called on Iran "to engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process", an EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said on Tuesday.

"This escalation benefits no one, and everybody is concerned by the same thing, which is the spillover effect," El Anouni said.

Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.