The UK government has declined to comment on a plea from one of its citizens detained in Iran to be given diplomatic protection.
Anoosheh Ashoori was arrested in Tehran in August 2017. His family say he had travelled there to look after his mother who had recently undergone medical treatment. He was subsequently charged and convicted of cooperating with Israel (a charge he denies) and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.
On 30 April this year, Ashoori’s legal team in the UK submitted a formal request for the UK government to offer him diplomatic protection, calling on foreign secretary Dominic Rabb to take action because of the “prolonged and continuous violations to his fundamental human rights, including to a fair trial and against torture.”
Under international law the UK can grant diplomatic protection to its citizens if it is shown that another country has committed an intentionally wrongful act against them, that they have exhausted all diplomatic remedies and that, in the case of dual-nationals, they are predominantly British. It is a rarely-used tool, but it was granted to another dual-national imprisoned in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, in March 2019.
In response to questions from Forbes about extending such protection to Ashoori, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office made no mention of his lawyers’ request and did not say whether it was being considered or had been rejected. Instead, a spokesperson said “We strongly urge Iran to reunite Mr Ashoori with his family. Our embassy in Tehran continues to request consular access. We are in close contact with his family and continue to support them.
“We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of arbitrarily detained dual British nationals in Iran. The foreign secretary continues to raise the UK’s serious concerns on this issue with foreign minister [Mohammed Javad] Zarif, and the prime minister [Boris Johnson] has raised it with President [Hassan] Rouhani, most recently on 10 March.”
Coronavirus concerns
Ashoori is currently in Evin prison in Tehran, along with numerous other dual-nationals, and has recently been showing signs of having contracted Covid-19. Ashoori’s daughter Elika said that when she spoke to her father in late April “he was in very bad shape. He was coughing so bad he couldn’t speak.” In a more recent call he had sounded better, but staying in touch with his family has become harder after his phone was taken away from him earlier this year.
The UK government has raised Ashoori’s case at the UN, with junior minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon telling the UN Human Rights Council in March that “The UK remains particularly concerned by the continued targeting of groups from human rights defenders and journalists, to ethnic and religious minorities and dual and foreign nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz.”
Even so, the efforts of the UK government to date leave Elika Ashoori underwhelmed. “I like to think that when they say everything is being done behind the scenes that’s correct,” she said. “But the strategy that they’ve applied right now doesn’t seem to be working.”
While she recognised that diplomatic protection is of questionable benefit in terms of Iran’s attitude to those it has imprisoned, she said it could help to ensure her father’s case was seen as a priority in London. “Diplomatic protection would give gravitas to his case. It would make it harder for the UK to ignore his case in any future deal,” she said.
Political literacy
Ashoori had run a small building materials company in Iran, which specialised in earthquake-resistant materials, but sold it a few years before he was arrested. Although resident in the UK, he travelled to Iran regularly in the years before his detention. “We had no reason to think we were in any danger,” said his daughter.
“As a family we were super politically illiterate,” she added. “My dad was so adamant that we should never get involved with politics.”
The families of those detained in Iran face a difficult decision in deciding whether to raise public awareness of their loved one’s fate. The UK government typically tells relatives not to speak to the press or conduct social media campaigns and instead to rely on diplomatic channels to secure early releases – not just in Iran, but other countries around the Middle East too. While some families accept that advice, others end up rejecting it. “If I have one regret, it is not going to the media sooner,” said Elika Ashoori.
Source » trackpersia