Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

maddyone
I do not for one minute think she was a spy. I think it was as a result of her teaching journalism sponsored by Thomson Reuters that Iran saw as the problem.
Their media is so tightly regulated that they would view her as a potential threat even if she was only in Iran visiting family.
I can only surmise that they may have thought that she was there to covertly agitate for more freedom of their press.
I doubt she was, but that just my opinion.

maddyone- the Brexit party has show itself for being anti-immigrants and many have shown to be racists- in short. I am pretty sure they would not have abstained for a 'British born and bred white woman'.

jura2
You miss the point.
If it was a British born white woman in Iran then Iran could not treat her as an Iranian as she was not born there and everyone could call foul play and the Brexit MEPs should have called for her release.
But
Nazarin is a born Iranian, considered to have committed a crime (we assume not), in Iran, was tried an sentenced by Iranian law. To Iran this is nobody's business but Iran.
Just as if Nazrin was born British, married an Iranian and lived there a while but when visiting Britain was perceived to have committed a crime in UK, was tried and sentenced in UK. Would our legal system accept outside interference in an internal matter...I very much doubt it and I think there would be a high level of offence.

I should imagine the Brexit party MEPs abstained simply because they, like the rest of us, have no idea if this Iranian woman is innocent or guilty.

There are always lots of comments on threads like this saying 'Poor woman. She has done nothing wrong', stated as if it is a fact.

Of course the official line from the family is that she was just visiting her parents with her small child, but we can't be sure that is the whole story can we?

Thank you Jura, I agree, I’m sure she wasn’t/isn’t a spy, but I think that’s what the Iranians are saying. I’m as sure as anyone can be that she was simply visiting her family, and I think you and others are right in that it most probably was her job that they didn’t like.
I’m not sure about the Brexit parties motive for their abstentions, I don’t hold the view that it is a racist party, but I know many do. I think it was because they didn’t want to virtue signal and thereby cause her any further problems. The diplomats must try their best, quietly and without fuss, to get her freed. The case reminds me of when it took years to get the British journalist and Irish journalist freed from Beirut, I think they were called John McCarthy and Brian Keegan, or something quite similar. We have to put our faith in the diplomats, but the wheels of diplomacy grind exceedingly slowly. I do hope she is released soon, but whatever our views on why the Brexit Party abstained, I think we can all agree on that.

Joelsnan, yes, I see that.

However, I am as sure as anyone can be- that that was NOT the motivation of Brexit party ...

Okay Jura, no problem, we agree to differ on that point. But I know we agree that hopefully she will be released sooner rather than later.

oh yes, for sure.

If Brexit Party MEPs abstained because they didn't want to make the situation worse, why did the Brexit Party MEP Belinda de Lucy argue in a speech in the EP before the vote for sanctions against Iran?

Rather than playing down the situation, the Brexit Party is in reality in favour of escalating the tension.

There is a Petition on change.com to free Nazanin - please sign it.

Sorry - the petition is on www.change.org

we do forget how truly evil these repressive regimes are.
So sad for this woman and her family.
I did once see a film, made in Iran about the watching/spying that goes on there of ordinary citizens that the state are suspicious of.
It was very unpleasant to even see the film.
The people living there want their country to be free again.
Can't blame them for that.