Jailed British-Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe could be granted clemency soon, says husband

The husband of jailed British-Iranian dual citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said his wife's release "feels quite close" as he anxiously awaits news on whether she will be among 3,000 prisoners granted clemency by Iran.

The mother-of-one's lawyers will attend court in Tehran on Wednesday to find out the decision.

"It feels like we're quite close," Richard Ratcliffe told Sky News on Wednesday.

"It feels like things could still go wrong. We've had a number of times where we've been down to the prosecutor's office and been told to come back in a week's time so that might be happening again."

Ratcliffe added that Iranian authorities appear to be divided over his wife's detention, with some in power wishing to keep her jailed while others are keen to end the four-year ordeal.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed in 2016 on spying charges while visiting Iran with her daughter.

Five months into her detention, she was tried and found guilty of "plotting to topple the Iranian regime" - a charge her family have persistently denied.

Read also: Jailed Australian-British academic has 'attempted suicide multiple times' in Iran detention

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is currently on temporary release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison after being among 85,000 inmates who were released to help mitigate Iran's coronavirus outbreak.

Under the temporary release, she is required to wear an ankle tag and remain within 300 metres of her parents' home in Tehran.

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