Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's six-year-old daughter wants 'mummy home for Christmas' as family face up to fifth festive season since she was jailed in Iran
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's daughter has said she wants 'mummy home for Christmas' as her family face their fifth Christmas without her after she was jailed in Iran.
The 41-year-old was detained in 2016 and jailed for five years on allegations that she plotted to overthrow the Iranian government.
The British-Iranian dual national has always denied the claims, and is currently under house arrest in Tehran, after being released from prison earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Her six-year-old daughter Gabriella has written a card to Boris Johnson, asking him to bring home her mother before her 42nd birthday on Boxing Day.
Gabriella's Christmas card to Boris Johnson shows the prime minister next to the six-year-old and her parents
The card pleads with the prime minister to 'bring my mummy home for Christmas,' as Gabriella says she wants to give her a mother a 'cuddle and then go to the toy shop'
The youngster asked the prime minister: 'Dear Boris Johnson, please can you bring my mummy home for Christmas.
'She has been good.
'When she comes back I want to cuddle her first and then go to the toy shop with her. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Love Gabriella. xxx'
The youngster - who was only 22 months old when her mother was detained - can be seen writing the message as part of a film with human rights charity Amnesty.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed in Iran in 2016 for plotting to overthrow the government - a charge she has always denied. The 41-year-old, pictured with her daughter Gabriella while she was temporarily released in 2018, is currently under house arrest in Tehran
The 10-minute clip, Two Daughters, also features Elika Ashoori, 34, daughter of retired 66-year-old engineer and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori, who has also been held in Iran since August 2017.
The film ends with the pair looking in shop windows in London's Regent Street adorned with Christmas decorations.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been out of prison since March due to the coronavirus crisis, is now back under house arrest at her parents' home in Tehran, with no date for the next court hearing.
She was arrested at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter to her parents in April 2016.
She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe, six, has sent a Christmas card to Boris Johnson pleading for the prime minister to help get her mother home for Christmas. Gabriella's plea was echoed by Elika Ashoori, 34, daughter of retired 66-year-old engineer and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori, who has also been held in Iran since August 2017
Kate Allen, director at Amnesty International UK, said: 'This is the story of two ordinary families caught up in an almost unimaginable situation - both victims of Iran's notoriously unjust national security charges.
'For too long, UK-Iranian dual nationals like Nazanin and Anoosheh have been trapped in Iranian jail cells, unsure whether the UK was genuinely doing all it could to secure their freedom.'
She added: 'Like Gabriella says, Boris Johnson needs to do everything he can to get Nazanin and Anoosheh home for Christmas.'