Morad Tahbaz has been freed from jail in Iran on electronic tag, UK says

The Telegram- July 27th 2022

Morad Tahbaz, the British-Iranian man held in a Tehran prison, has been released on an electronic tag, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed.

He had been due to be released on a tag at the same time as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were allowed to return to the UK in March, but he was only allowed to return to his mother’s home in Tehran for a few days before he was sent back to Evin prison.

Tahbaz is a co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation. In January 2018 Iranian authorities arrested him and eight other PWHF-affiliated individuals. He has American as well as British and Iranian citizenship.

In November 2019, the Iranian judiciary sentenced Tahbaz to 10 years in prison for “contacts with the US enemy government”.

It is understood that the Oman government has acted as broker in the release, as it did in the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

An FCO spokesperson said: “The Tahbaz family have confirmed Morad has been released from Evin prison on furlough and is at their home in Tehran.

“Morad is a tri-national and we continue to work closely with the United States to urge the Iranian authorities to permanently release him and allow his departure from Iran.”

It is not clear if there was any exchange either by the US or the UK that led to the relaxation of his conditions. One possibility is that Oman or another foreign power agreed to paid a substantial bail to ensure his release.

Tahbaz’s daughter, Roxanne Tahbaz, said her father “should be free” and urged the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, to do more. She said in a statement: “I can confirm my father is on a temporary furlough in Iran with an ankle bracelet.

“I am glad he can be with my mother who is also in Iran on a travel ban, and that this furlough will allow him to receive the medical attention he urgently needs.

“However, the UK government’s work is unfinished. My father is a UK-born national and he and my mother should have been on the flight with Nazanin and Anoosheh four months ago.

“They should be free. Home is not in Iran, home is with their children.

“As the foreign secretary campaigns on a promise of results and delivery to the nation, I hope she will stand by her promise to my family and to my father and ensure his unconditional release.”

Eilidh Macpherson, Amnesty International UK’s individuals at risk campaign manager, said: “This is very encouraging news but we’ve been here before and we now need to see the UK pressing hard for Morad’s full, unconditional release and permission for him to leave Iran along with his wife, Vida.

“Back in March when Morad was given a temporary release for just 48 hours, it was clear the Iranian authorities were once again playing cruel games with a British national for diplomatic gain.

“It goes without saying that Morad should never have been jailed in the first place and it remains a matter of grave concern that British nationals continue to be held arbitrarily by the Iranian authorities like this.”

The UK has already repaid the historical £400m debt it owed to Iran, a move that most observers said was linked to Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release. Truss refused to accept there was any direct link and said the two episodes were unrelated.

Truss came under criticism for allowing Ashoori and Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be released without securing the release of Tahbaz, but she seemingly thought the Iranians were intransigent and that Tahbaz was going to be treated as an individual whose future would be negotiated with the US. Truss said the Iranians had gone back on their commitment to allow him to be released on furlough.