COMMENT Anatomy of very British scandal that cost woman six years of her life
by Edward Steen. Vienna, March 16, 2022 Updated with BBC documentary 17/03/22
It has taken the long-overdue repayment of 400 million UKP, owed to Iran since 1979 (a matter of Chieftain tanks that were never delivered)- for a British-Iranian woman aid worker visiting her mother to be freed after six years in detention, and an indefatigable internationa campaign.
![](https://aej.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Selfie-on-plane-Nazanin-300x180.jpg)
Former journalist Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, notorious for sloppiness about detail, had as foreign secretary denied she was a spy, and said Nazadin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was “simply teaching people journalism” – a statement her family and her employer both said was nonsense
![](https://aej.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/campaigner-for-Nazanin-300x200.jpg)
♦ Guardian 17/03/22 Foreign Office urged husband “don’t make a song and dance about this”
♦ Guardian 16/03/22 timeline of Nazanin’s six-year detention
♦ Guardian 16/03/22 (Video) Is that Mummy?
♦ Guardian 16/03/22 Editorial
♦ BBC sounds 17/03/22 Mr One per cent, unpaid debts, and Nazadin