The five-year-old daughter of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has returned to the UK, meeting her father Richard again for the first time in more than three years.
Gabriella has been living with her grandparents in Tehran and and visiting her mother in the notorious Evin Prison since her mother was arrested on spying charges more than three years ago.
But Nazanin and her husband Richard Ratcliffe decided to bring her back home to the
UK so she can start school.Ratcliffe said: “Gabriella came back to us late at night, a bit uncertain seeing those she only remembered from the phone. Now she is peacefully sleeping next to me. And I am just watching.
“It has been a long journey to have her home, with bumps right until the end – and I am grateful to all those at the
British Embassy and Iranian MFA who helped smooth all those last blockages.
“Of course the job is not yet done until Nazanin is home. It was a hard goodbye for Nazanin and all her family. But let us hope this homecoming unlocks another.”
Speaking to HuffPost UK last week, Richard had said he was “daunted” at the prospect of seeing his daughter in person again.
He added: “For a long time I’ve been a campaigning dad and a campaigning husband. I’m pretty rusty as a parent.”Labour’s Tulip Siddiq said Gabriella’s parents have made a decision that “no family” should have to make.
“It is heart-warming to see Gabriella reunited with her father after 1,300 days in Iran, but heart-breaking that she is separated from her mother Nazanin,” Siddiq said.
“Nazanin is at breaking point, and today is yet another reminder that she has been failed at the very highest levels of government.”
Siddiq called on
Iran to end its “hostage diplomacy” and release Zaghari-Ratcliffe.Related... 'Is Mummy Not Coming With Us?' Richard Ratcliffe Prepares To Be Reunited With His Daughter Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Makes Heart-Breaking Decision To Send Daughter Back To UK