British-Iranian woman sentenced to 5 years in Iran prison
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A British-Iranian woman detained for months in Iran on suspicion of planning the “soft toppling” of the country’s government while travelling with her young daughter has been sentenced to five years in prison, her husband said Friday.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was convicted on “secret charges” in a Revolutionary Court, Richard Ratcliffe said, making her the first dual national known to be convicted as part of a string of detentions following Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
While Iranian authorities haven’t offered a motive for the detentions, analysts and families of those held have suggested hard-liners within the country’s security services want concessions from the West in exchange for releasing them.
“It does seem strange you’d have a sentence without any charges,” Ratcliffe told The Associated Press. “You can’t defend yourself against a secret.”