Iran: Anoosheh Ashouri bemoans UK's lost opportunity to free detainees

Anoosheh Ashouri, a British-Iranian former detainee, said he lost "almost five years" of his life in prison in Iran after the UK government was accused of missing early opportunities to secure his release.

A report by the UK parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on state hostage diplomacy was published on Tuesday, in which a cross-party group of MPs said “significant suffering” was imposed on Ashouri and fellow detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliff by the government's refusal to initially accept the terms which eventually led to their release in March 2022.

Ashouri, a businessman, was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 for spying for Israel and two years for “acquiring illegitimate wealth", claims he denies.

British-Iranian aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran in 2016 on spying charges. Both were released in 2022 after the British government agreed to pay off a £400m historical debt owed to Iran for the purchase of tanks.

Evidence gathered by the committee, however, suggested the terms offered for their release were no different when negotiations were under way in 2017, and there was little to justify not having secured their freedom then.

"There is compelling evidence that the repayment of the IMS debt became a precondition for the release of UK nationals from Iran," said the report.

"The failure to pay it sooner was highly regrettable and almost certainly adversely affected the length of detentions by limiting diplomatic options for negotiating an earlier release and brought significant suffering."

In 2017, Boris Johnson was foreign secretary and when Ashouri and Zaghari-Ratcliffe were eventually released he had become prime minister. The committee noted that another minister in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the time, Alastair Burt, had recommended the payment of the debt.

'If the debt had been paid earlier, I would not have lost almost five years of my life'

- Anoosheh Ashouri

"I am happy that the Foreign Affairs Committee has finally recognised that there were many major shortcomings in the FCDO's handling of the hostage case," Ashouri told Middle East Eye.

"If the debt had been paid earlier, I would not have lost almost five years of my life in what I call 'The Valley of Hell'."

The report acknowledged that US sanctions against Iran may have been a factor in delaying the payment, but said that ultimately all that changed in the years between the arrests and their eventual release was the "interpretation of the terms of the sanctions, and the political will to risk upsetting the US administration".

In comments to MEE, a spokesperson for the FCDO said "consular officials are available 24/7 for families to receive tailored support. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers are fully engaged in complex cases and have raised concerns with foreign governments."

“The best interests of British national detainees is at the heart of our consular work and we support and work with their families wherever we can.”

'Inconsistency and clumsiness'

The Foreign Affairs Committee report also accused the British government of having been "plagued by inconsistency and clumsiness" in communications with families of detainees.

It cited then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss's handling of the case of Morad Tahbaz, a US-UK-Iranian citizen, whom Truss originally agreed with the US would be released alongside Ashouri and Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

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“However, Liz Truss did not stand by this arrangement and failed to let either the family or US officials know that Morad was not to be released with Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori,” said the report.

“Liz Truss eventually called the family to say that ‘Morad is now a US problem’, implying that she would not put further effort into his release, and she did not have time to speak to them further."

One recommendation by the report was for the creation of a new post, a director for arbitrary and complex detentions, which would have a "direct line to the prime minister", a suggestion welcomed by Ashouri.

"I am very happy about the suggestion that has been made to appoint a new person in charge of these cases, which means that they will be dealing with similar cases with more sympathy and knowledge in the future," he said.