Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family 'relieved' by Iran release

A relative of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says news of her return to the UK is "absolutely mind-blowing" after six years of being detained in Iran.

The 43-year-old and another detainee, Anoosheh Ashoori, were met at RAF Brize Norton in the early hours.

Alex Loftus, cousin of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, said she did not think it had "sunk in properly yet".

Mrs Loftus, from Warwickshire, added it had been "so moving" seeing the images of her being reunited with family.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori, 67, left Tehran on Wednesday after their release was secured following months of negotiations.

It marked the end of an ordeal that saw the British-Iranian national detained, after being accused in 2016 of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

She was sentenced to a further year in prison in April last year and a one-year travel ban on charges of propaganda against the government.

Both Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori have consistently and vigorously denied allegations.

Their release came after the UK settled a debt to Iran of almost £400m dating from the 1970s.

Mrs Loftus, who lives near Southam, said a couple of years ago Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe "made the very brave decision of sending" her now seven-year-old daughter, Gabriella, back home.

The girl rushed to hug her mother after she touched down at Brize Norton.

Mrs Loftus added: "She could then start having a normal sort of, well the British life that she was meant to have in the first place and go to school, be with her dad.

"Thankfully we now have Skype... [but] things like... giving Gabriella a kiss goodnight, walking her to school, things like that... she just missed out on."

The cousin said 3.7 million people had signed a Change.org petition and that there had been regular family meetings.

"We've been there so many times, that there's been hope," she said.

"I don't think any us were ever going to believe it until actually Naz was on that plane out of Iranian airspace.

"We'll have our time to see them, but at the moment it just needs to be the three of them."

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