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Iran Sentences British-Iranian Aid Worker to One Year in Jail

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Reuters)
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Reuters)
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Iran Sentences British-Iranian Aid Worker to One Year in Jail

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Reuters)
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Reuters)

An Iranian Revolutionary court has sentenced British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to a one-year jail term and she is banned from leaving the country for a year, her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told Emtedad news website on Monday.

"Nazanin Zaghari was sentenced to one year in prison and a one year ban from leaving the country on charges of propaganda against the republic," Kermani told the website.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation charity, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 and later convicted of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment.

She was released from house arrest last month at the end of a five-year sentence, but immediately ordered back into court to face the new propaganda charges.

Kermani said he would appeal the new sentence within 21 days under Iranian law.

Her family and the foundation, a charity that operates independently of media firm Thomson Reuters and its news subsidiary Reuters, deny the charges.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent four years in jail before being released into house arrest in March 2020 during the coronavirus.

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China’s Xi Urges Missile Troops to Boost Deterrence, Combat Capabilities

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, visits Aojiao Village of Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou during an inspection tour in southeastern China's Fujian province on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, visits Aojiao Village of Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou during an inspection tour in southeastern China's Fujian province on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
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China’s Xi Urges Missile Troops to Boost Deterrence, Combat Capabilities

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, visits Aojiao Village of Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou during an inspection tour in southeastern China's Fujian province on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, visits Aojiao Village of Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou during an inspection tour in southeastern China's Fujian province on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese state media reported on Saturday that President Xi Jinping on Thursday inspected a brigade of the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force, urging the troops to boost their "deterrence and combat capabilities".

During the inspection Xi also urged the strategic missile troops to "resolutely fulfil the tasks entrusted by the Party and the people," state news agency Xinhua said.

The PLA Rocket Force, which oversees the country's conventional and nuclear missiles, has been tasked with modernizing China's nuclear forces in the face of developments such as improved US missile defenses, better surveillance capabilities and strengthened alliances.

During the inspection, Xi stressed the need to "adhere to political guidance, strengthen mission responsibility," and "promote high-quality development of the force construction," according to Chinese media outlet Cailianshe.

Last month China conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, underscoring growing international focus on the country's nuclear build-up.

China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with several generals, including from the Rocket Force, and aerospace defense industry executives removed from the national legislative body.

In June, Xi said there were "deep-seated problems" in the Chinese military's politics, ideology, work style and discipline, adding "there must be no hiding place for corrupt elements in the army."