MEMBERS of Silsden Amnesty International have held their third vigil for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2016.

On this occasion, the group stood outside the office of MP Robbie Moore, whom they have written to on this matter and who – despite being sympathetic to Nazanin’s situation – feels unable to "substantively comment" on the Government’s negotiations for her release.

Nazanin, and other British-Iranian dual nationals, are being held on false charges. The main obstacle to their release is a 40-year-old debt of around £400 million owed to the Iranian Government. EU and US sanctions make repayment of the debt complicated but not impossible; what appears to be lacking is the political will. The group would like Mr Moore to take a more proactive role in pursuing Nazanin’s case with the appropriate Government ministers. The group is disappointed that last week it received exactly the same reply from him to a letter sent after the second vigil in December as it did following its first vigil in November. This suggests that no significant action has been taken by either Mr Moore or by the Government.

Nazanin’s situation is particularly heart-rending because she has a six-year-old daughter, Gabriella, now living in the UK with her father, Richard Ratcliffe. Gabriella was a year old when Nazanin was taken into custody; since then she has rarely spent time with her mother other than during prison visits. Gabriella has just spent her fifth Christmas without her mother.

The group’s next action in support of Nazanin will be at its coffee morning at Silsden Methodist Church on February 12.

Alison Tribe, Silsden Amnesty International

* MP Robbie Moore responds: "Ending the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is of much importance to me, which is why I have raised the matter directly with the Foreign Secretary on a number of occasions. I have been assured that the Government is using every tool in its diplomatic arsenal to secure the immediate and permanent release of all arbitrarily detained British dual nationals in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. I will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will treat this issue with the utmost importance it deserves."

** Email your letters to alistair.shand@keighleynews.co.uk