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  • Nazanine Zachary Ratcliffe, who was detained and jailed in Iran nearly five years ago, has had her house arrest lifted as her sentence came to an end today, raising hopes that she may be a step closer to returning to Britain.

  • But shortly after her ankle tag was removed, she was told of a court summons on a separate charge next week.

  • Her husband, Richard, says she remains in harm's way.

  • Our correspondent, Caroline Hawley reports a rare glimpse into what's keeping this family together when they're forced to be thousands of miles apart.

  • It's still quite a mess for six year old Gabriella.

  • An image on a mobile phone can't replace the touch of her mother.

  • She's been counting down the days to the end of her mom's sentence.

  • Now the ankle tag Nazanin had to wear since she was released from jail last year has been taken off.

  • Nazanin said she was ecstatic and went straight to visit her elderly grandmother.

  • But in a week she faces a new court case on another secret charge.

  • So by the time I was speaking on, the phone was going mad but obviously out, Shout it, shout!

  • And yes, she is technically, the first court case is finished.

  • At the same time, the second case simultaneously has been invoked.

  • So the Foreign Office we're really pleased that they've got the ankle head off and there was some progress and they clearly had issued a very formal note this morning saying Listen, you've got to release her so the rains have done that At the same time they kept his leverage going forward and and I find my emotional reactions quite guarded about what this means and we're still in the middle of it and we're still in the middle of this, this game of chess.

  • She was at Tehran airport preparing to fly home from a holiday, visiting her parents when she was arrested in 2000 and 16.

  • Since then, she suffered months of solitary confinement, blindfolded interrogation and several false promises of release.

  • Nazanin has been told by Iranian officials that she has been held as collateral for a debt owed by Britain dating back to the 19 seventies.

  • Calls are now growing for the government here to take a stronger stand against Iran's hostage diplomacy.

  • It's clearly another trumped up charge because hardliners in the regime are saying uh, we've we pay the diplomatic price for holding Maslin.

  • Now let's not lose the leverage of keeping her.

  • And it is totally and utterly inhumane because at the center of this is an innocent woman, her husband and her daughter.

  • And they are just forgetting that in all these grand power games there are ordinary people who are paying a most terrible price.

  • What's the first thing you're going to do with money when she comes back?

  • That's not going to do together.

  • But now their hopes have been dashed yet again.

  • Their MPs called it mental torture.

  • For how much longer will they have to go through this agony of separation?

  • Only when she's safely on a flight back to the UK will they know their ordeal is finally over.

  • Bye bye.

  • Translate weather and Caroline Hall is here in the studio.

  • Now.

  • How likely is it, Caroline, that this does lead in time to have returned to Britain?

  • Look, that is an impossible question.

  • We don't know what will happen next week.

  • She still doesn't have her British passport back.

  • The new court case could be used to block her release.

  • Richard has told me that the Iranian seen as mean as an asset and that they're essentially making this up as they go along The debt that the UK owes to Iran for tanks that were never delivered to Iran after the Islamic revolution.

  • That is still outstanding.

  • The UK acknowledges it owes the debt but can't pay it back because of sanctions.

  • So you've got these very complicated geopolitics and then a family caught in the middle of all of this.

  • And it's been this horrific emotional roller coaster for them and all of that, in a way, collapsed into just today.

  • The ups and the downs, the joy of magazines released the idea that now she can go out and have a cup of coffee, a simple pleasure.

  • And then this threat of a new court case next week.

  • Caroline Holy.

  • Thank you.

Nazanine Zachary Ratcliffe, who was detained and jailed in Iran nearly five years ago, has had her house arrest lifted as her sentence came to an end today, raising hopes that she may be a step closer to returning to Britain.

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