Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 1 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

11/03/21 • 36 min

Family is everything and not many people know this better than Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British hostage in Iran – Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Today marks 11 days since Richard Ratcliffe has been on hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office which is right next to the Prime Minister’s Office. He has 4 demands for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his ultimate objective is to get the British government to free his wife so she can come back home to London after being held hostage in Iran for the last 5 years.

Richard’s ability to keep on campaigning tirelessly to free his wife would not be possible without the love and support of his family. On this episode, we speak to Richard Ratcliffe himself, his sister who is a doctor, Rebecca Jones, his brother, Chris Ratcliffe and his mother, Barbara Ratcliffe.

We discuss how Richard has been feeling throughout the week, his disappointing meeting with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, how his health is being monitored and looked after by his sister, the good caring people that have showed up to help, what the public can do as well as what the last 5 years have been like for the Ratcliffe family.
For more information on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please check out the following:

Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10
FreeNazanin petition
FreeNazanin Twitter account
Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin

Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Support the show

Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10
FreeNazanin petition
FreeNazanin Twitter account
Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin

Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Support the show

Previous Episode

Free Majd Kamalmaz, American Hostage in Syria | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

In February 2017, American psychotherapist and humanitarian Majd Kamalmaz visited Syria to offer condolences to an elderly family member in mourning. Less than 24 hours after his arrival in Damascus, his family in the US received word that he was missing. Majd was apparently detained at a Syrian government checkpoint. More than 4 years later, Majd’s family have not spoken to him, heard from him or seen him since he was detained.

After the civil war in 2012, the United States suspended diplomatic ties with Syria. The US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan resolution encouraging the State Department and other US government entities to engage with Syria to facilitate the safe release of Majd Kamalmaz. We speak to Majd’s daughter, Maryam Kamalmaz to find out how we can help bring her father back home.

We discuss Majd’s humanitarian work, his enforced disappearance, proof of life, his pre-existing health conditions, the toll this has taken on the Kamalmaz family, diplomatic ties between US and Syria as well as what the US government, Congress and President of the United States, Joe Biden should do better to bring Majd Kamalmaz home. We also discuss what journalists and the public can do to help.
If you prefer, you can watch the video version of this interview on YouTube.
For more information on Majd Kamalmaz, please check out the following:

Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Support the show

Next Episode

Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 2 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

Richard Ratcliffe, husband of British hostage in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on week 3 of his hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office which is right next to the Prime Minister’s office. Richard’s amazing campaigning has inspired millions of good caring people from all walks of life to come together to free Nazanin. On this week’s episode, we show you the power of love, the power of hope, the power of solidarity and the power of lifting others while you climb.

You’ll hear from volunteers of the Free Nazanin campaign, human rights activist and Hollywood actress, Nazanin Boniadi, human rights lawyer, Gissou Nia as well as the families and campaigners for other innocent people held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world. These include Daniela Tejada (wife of Matthew Hedges), Dara Conduit (colleague of Kylie Moore-Gilbert), Marielle Debos (colleague of Fariba Adelkhah), Mariam Claren (daughter of Nahid Taghavi) and former American hostage in Syria, Sam Goodwin.
For more information on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please check out the following:

Our previous episodes: Ep 1, Ep 10, Ep 12
FreeNazanin petition
FreeNazanin Twitter account
Social media hashtag: FreeNazanin

Get the latest updates on hostage cases we at Pod Hostage Diplomacy are working on including new episodes by subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter, the Hostage Briefing. Subscribe here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Support the show

POD HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY - Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 1 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

Transcript

Free Nazanin, British Hostage in Iran – The Hunger Strike, Part 1 | Pod Hostage Diplomacy

SPEAKERS

Daren Nair, Richard Ratcliffe, Rebecca Jones, Chris Ratcliffe, Barbara Ratcliffe

Daren Nair:

Welcome to Pod Hostage Diplomacy. We work to free hostages and the unjustly detained around the world. Together with their families, we share their stories every week and let you know how you can help bring them home.
I'm