Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

I would rather be a citizen than a subject and it appears that I am as I was born in the UK. If I have understood this correctly "subject" status is inferior to "citizen" status, but both are entitled to consular access and assistance abroad. Nazarin is a British citizen.

It is possible if her husband was/is a British subject, but I presume he is not and that he is a citizen

Some posters are adamant that we are 'subjects' of Her Majesty so that has confused the issue.

There is no such legal concept in nationality/citizenship/immigration law as a subject of her majesty. And there is no reasonable logical way NZR’s husband could be a British subject. The issue has only been confused by people not understanding the basics of the issue of nationality/citizenship.

NZR has Iranian nationality, and so does her daughter, as do all Iranians and their children who live outside Iran. Whilst living outside of Iran they are still regarded by Iran as being Iranian. The fact that she has dual nationality cuts no ice with the Iranians, she is simply regarded as Iranian. My son’s friend told me this, she herself was born in Britain to a British mother and an Iranian father, but she reliably informed me that she cannot travel to Iran except on an Iranian passport. And so the same applies to NZR and her child. The Iranians simply don’t see them as anything other than Iranians, it’s completely irrelevant to them how they are seen in Britain.

It seems to me that there is more to this sad situation than meets the eye. Something doesn’t add up. Boris Johnson has nothing to do with it, because as a previous poster said, his remarks came after Iran announced further imprisonment for NZR. Boris Johnson May be a buffoon, but he’s an intelligent buffoon. He knew more about the case than we did or do. I don’t know how it will all pan out, but I feel sorry for the husband and his little daughter.

And yes, I agree with the poster who said everyone is entitled to an opinion. After all, we don’t live in Iran, we live in Britain and are allowed to speak freely. Even if others don’t agree with us, or feel we are uninformed, we can still speak. This right is not removed because someone else feels that what has been said is not accurate.

No one is saying that someone can’t express an opinion but if that opinion is uninformed then it can be roundly criticised. What is the matter with people that they can’t understand that ? Also BJ made his ill advised comments after fresh charges had been laid against her not further imprisonment. He is a self absorbed entitled serial liar who is lazy in office and does not bother with detail.

I think the Foreign Office are missing a trick here maryeliza54 as who knew you were better informed on this (and perhaps many more) issues than Boris? You do think Jeremy Hunt is making a better fist of it though ... ?

‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’

Urmstongran ?

And I will defend my right to criticise what someone has said especially when it’s uninformed, factually incorrect, racist, sexist and so on

There is no such legal concept in nationality/citizenship/immigration law as a subject of her majesty.
I know that
You know that maryeliza

but the concept enrages some posters who can rather cross about it on threads.

And there is no reasonable logical way NZR’s husband could be a British subject
Thank you for clarifying that point, although it is not impossible.

can become

What you have said about Iranian citizens with dual nationality travelling to Iran is interesting maddyone

Yes Jalima, I must say I was a bit shocked when this lovely young woman told me this. She is a friend of my son’s, they were at university together, on the same course. There were only eight of them on this particular course, so they all got very friendly together and knew each other well. This particular young woman has visited my home several times, she’s a lovely person. Anyway, she was recently having lunch with my son and his family, at his house, and we were invited too. That was when she told me. I think we were discussing the NZR case then, and our son’s friend was recently married, to an Iranian who has settled here. Of course her father is Iranian, with British nationality, and her mother is British only. And that was what she told me, she can’t travel to Iran, to see her father’s side of the family, even though she was born here, to an English mother, unless she travels on an Iranian passport. And of course, that will apply to any children she may have, more especially since her husband is Iranian (purely by chance, though I guess when they met, a shared heritage would have interested them.)

Anyway, with that little piece of information, it’s easy to see why the Iranians believe NZR to be purely Iranian, and it appears that British views hold no sway with regard to their own citizens.

It has just been posted on Twitter that Nazarin is being denied her weekly phone call to her husband and all other “privileges” since announcing her intentions to go on hunger strike from Monday 14th January.

What is Iran up to I ask myself and what will their next move be ?

EllanVannin I wonder too; but perhaps they have made demands which will not be met as a precedent would then be set and other countries, too, could take note.
It is extremely worrying and very distressing for her family.

Yes Jalima, it’s very worrying and distressing for her family, especially her little girl, who must barely know either her mother or her father by now. And I feel desperately sorry for her husband, who has lost his wife and child to the Iranian justice system.

I think it was only to be expected that the Iranian prison authorities would take strong action against anyone threatening antics such as a hunger strike.

I'm another who thinks there has to be more to this than what we've been told. Britain is impotent to do anything, Iran holds all the power. Their record on human rights abuse demonstrates how little value they put on human life; I don't think they'll be particularly upset if Nazarin dies or remains incarcerated for life, what have they got to lose?

Not intended as being flippant I did wonder if offering Boris Johnson as a swop might work?

In the news today:
GRAND AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI, who has died aged 70, was a cleric and politician who spent his career as a hardline conservative in the government of Iran. His roles included serving as a member of the Assembly of Experts, as the country’s Chief Justice and as head of the Expediency Council.
As justice minister between 1999 and 2009 he is thought to have overseen more than 2,000 executions as the Iranian government cracked down on dissidents, journalists and activists; some of those executed were believed to be minors.

This is what Nazarin is pitted against.

Nazanin.

Interesting posts maddyone
Iran are a law unto themselves and will not be persuaded easily by any other country as to how they treat their own citizens.
I cannot imagine why she took her little girl there ( yes, I know,parents are there) but even so!

What maddyone has explained so clearly about Iranian nationality has been mentioned several times in news outlets—that Nazanin's British nationality means precisely zilch in Iran. Iran does not recognise dual nationality of its citizens.

The visit at the end of which she wa arrested was her fourth or fifth visit with her daughter to visit the grandparents. All other visits were completely unproblematic.

Now that’s a bit of interesting news maryeliza, I wonder what changed from those uneventful visits to this latest visit.

The interesting thing about the Iranians view of citizenship is that they claim children born outside of Iran, who have only one Iranian parent, are Iranian, and only Iranian, as my son’s friend explained. She considers herself to be British, and normally travels on her British passport, but as I mentioned previously, if travelling to Iran, must travel on her Iranian passport as they consider her to be purely Iranian, despite her English mother!

I thought that under Iranian Law only the father could pass on Iranian nationality? Must check that .

As for what changed - well the constant tension between the Revolutionary Guards and the theocracy impacts on cases like NZR ( and other dual nationals in prison there) as that power balance is in a constant state of flux. I do think it’s ridiculous to criticise her for visiting when she visited every year since settling here (2007) and then several times since her daughter was born without incident. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to infer from her behaviour that she was never worried about visiting as she had nothing to hide or fear. I also think it’s reasonable to infer that she’s a loving mother who would never have put her daughter in harms way and at risk of being separated from her.