Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Richard has said: “I think there’s a basic medical limit on how long you do a hunger strike for. I made a promise to Nazanin, I made a promise to my family, Mum in particular, and to the family doctors, that I won’t take it too far."

Richard has said he is not doing it in order to die but to draw attention to this desperate cause. I feel so sorry for him that reducing himself to his current wretched state and causing heartache and worry for those he loves is the only action he feels is left for him.

The point is that he is protesting. The point is that this is what protests are about. The point is that he is so desperate that he is on hunger strike again - did you notice the first time?

The point is that staying at home with his daughter, writing polite letters to the government, has made no difference at all. The point is that he is embarrassing the government, or he would be if they had any conscience whatsoever.

The point is not to die. The point is to rise awareness. The point is that he's tried everything else and there's nothing left.

But some people will always miss the point, I suppose.

He won’t die BlueBelle it won’t come to anything near that.
It’s a publicity stunt ( and no, I don’t blame him for doing it.)

It’s not sentimental rubbish if he’s going to stop and said he’s going to stop what is the point !!! I know he’s desperate but that way is only hurrying himself and his family and his wife
We would have discussed it anyway because of her possibility if going back to prison from house arrest

varian

The problem is that because of our obscenely undemocratic FPTP voting system, most of us have ended up with Tory MPs although most of us voted against the Tory Party.

You can tweet your Tory MP as much as you liker but they JUST DON'T CARE.

Change the record!
We have a Conservative government with a huge majority because that’s how people voted.
If, in the next GE there was to be a Labour landslide what would you be saying then?
That it’s a disgrace because most of us did not vote for them?
The Lib Dems are dwindling away into obscurity because either nobody knows what they stand for, or who their leaders are, and they take up with enthusiasm causes that people are rightly wary of ( trans issues.)

He said some time ago that he will probably stop the strike when the Iranian delegation leave COP26. Because by then he'll have shown the governments and the people of this country just how desperate the situation is.

It's a protest, he's not going to starve himself to death. And we're all talking about it again, aren't we? So I'm afraid sentimental ideas about staying alive for his poor little daughter and helpless wife are a bit misplaced. We're beyond that now.

Why Alagrias ? What will he achieve by dying ? one less thorn in the side of Iran It will achieve nothing for his little girl and nothing for his poor helpless wife who will feel a million time worse if that’s possible it will hurt no one but this poor little family unit
He needs to fight on alive

Would be interesting to know if his wife is supporting his action?

It's absolutely beyond me that anybody thinks a valid response to this is to tell Radcliffe that he's wasting his time to go on hunger strike and that he's hurting his daughter.

It is truly heartbreaking, the husband has done everything humanly possible to get her home. I wish he would start eating for his child’s sake if not his own, I understood it’s 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food before the body shuts down. It serves no purpose what he is doing, it will not influence the governments.
I can’t understand why we would not pay debts we owe.

I find this case absolutely heartbreaking but what can possible be achieved by hunger strike that is going to make no difference whatsoever except either leave the child an orphan or completely mentally messed up I know he’s desperate but that will achieve nothing
Johnson s mouth has a life of its own, he is dangerous in its looseness
Of course we should pay the money we owe them we would be in a much much better station to demand her return of course they may not respond as they should but it would give us leverage and take away their reasoning and anyway we just should morally pay our debts

The problem is that because of our obscenely undemocratic FPTP voting system, most of us have ended up with Tory MPs although most of us voted against the Tory Party.

You can tweet your Tory MP as much as you liker but they JUST DON'T CARE.

A friend of mine is tweeting her MP on a daily basis. I don’t do twittering but will look into how to go about it….

I have just watched the News programme about Richard Ratcliffe's hunger strike this morning it's Heart breaking and makes me so sad, what an amazing man and family. I have no idea apart from writing to the Government on his behalf on what to do to support him? Anyone here got any suggestions of how to help him before its to late? Many thanks!

Scones

Tulip Siddiq met up with Richard afterwards and tweeted this.

"Richard Ratcliffe and I have come out of our meeting with the Foreign Office Minister, who had just met his Iranian counterpart.

It was hard to watch my constituent in visible distress as it became clear that there was no real breakthrough and nothing new to report."

I feel so sorry for him.

I was so hoping there had been a break through….

Two young women in the news today. The plight of 1 in stark contrast to the needs of the other.

Thank you for that update Scones. I haven’t seen any news yet as went out this afternoon.
Maybee, I hope you’re right and he’s taking Dioralyte in his water.

Tulip Siddiq met up with Richard afterwards and tweeted this.

"Richard Ratcliffe and I have come out of our meeting with the Foreign Office Minister, who had just met his Iranian counterpart.

It was hard to watch my constituent in visible distress as it became clear that there was no real breakthrough and nothing new to report."

I feel so sorry for him.

There have been face-to-face talks with a member of the Iranian Government &
U.K. Foreign Office today according to the lunchtime news.

You can survive up to 2 months according to google. He won’t be taking in anything resembling food ( if he says he’s not eating he won’t be taking in any food substances )but I would imagine he’s drinking water with things added dioralite etc.

Yes I’m not sure maddyone but is it possible to survive for eighteen days on just water?
It’s a long time isn’t it!

Wouldn’t Complan or similar be food though? I imagine he’s just drinking water, but I don’t know.

I wonder what sustenance he’s having in the form of a drink?
I believe it’s about eighteen days now and although we all know that liquid intake is more critical than food I do wonder how long humans can last without food.
Perhaps he’s having something like Complan (if it’s still around).

Well said grannyactivist. My sentiments entirely.

It’s probably why he now talks about James Bond, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog in his speeches. Less chance of upsetting people.