Meet Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2016. His recent release and reunion with his husband and daughter drew attention. While Nazanin was fighting for her freedom in Iran, her husband rigorously protested for 6 years demanding her release.
So, find out about Nazanin’s husband, Richard. Here we will talk about his job, age, background and his daughter.
Meet Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari
Nazanin Zaghari, an Iranian-British national, moved to the UK in Hampstead, North West London, to study for a Masters in Communication Management at London Metropolitan University after receiving a scholarship. She soon met her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, through mutual friends.
Richard and Nazanin shared their wedding vows in August 2009 in Winchester.
Nazanin’s parents live in Iran, so she traveled there on an Iranian passport as required by law, and used a British passport to travel to all other countries. However, on April 3, 2016, members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards confiscated her British passport, arrested her at the Imam Khomeini airport and detained her.
Nazanin was charged with conspiring against the Iranian government, which she denied, and was sentenced to five years in prison, where she spent four years in Tehran’s Evin prison and one year under house arrest.
In July 2016, Richard delivered letters to Downing Street for outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron and his replacement Theresa May on the 100th day of his wife’s arrest. He says it is “astonishing” that no British minister has publicly criticized Tehran over the arrest of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
In September 2016, Richard claimed that his wife had been jailed for five years after being found guilty of unspecified offenses “related to national security”, a sentence he described as “punishment without crime”. A year later, in November 2017, Richard opened up about his wife finding a lump in her breast and “on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
Throughout the period, he advocated for his wife in Britain. He also went on hunger strike to protest the British government’s failure to secure his wife’s return home.
In addition, he also launched a petition with 4.5 million signatures to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The petition was signed by 3.76 million people in 155 countries. On March 15, 2022, Nazanin obtained her British passport at the last minute and is now back with her husband and her daughter.
Three years ago, Richard personally placed a card and 155 bouquets of flowers, one for each week his wife spent in prison, outside the Iranian embassy in London.
Richard, who is delighted with his wife’s return, said: “We cannot turn back the time that has passed. But we live in the future, not the past. We’ll take it one day at a time. I think it will be the start of a new life, a normal life and hopefully a happy family, with all the friction and all the normal fights that we had before.”
He also said he believed his wife was “caught up in a dispute between two countries” over an old debt of 400 million pounds ($540 million) that London has refused to pay since the shah of Iran was ousted in 1979.
Do Richard Ratcliffe and Nazanin Zaghari have a daughter?
Richard and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe are the parents of a daughter, Gabriella, who was born in June 2014. At the time of Nazanin’s arrest, Gabriella was with her. Gabriella, 22 months old, was handed over to her maternal grandparents. Five-year-old Gabriella returned to Richard in the UK on October 10, 2019.
Following her mother’s return to the UK, Gabriella seems to have a firm idea of how to reintegrate her mother into her life. Richard said that she herself chose which toys to show her mother when she landed her plane. Gabriella also planned to play the piano for her and show her her craft supplies.
Gabriella was heard asking “is that a mummy?” before her mother came down the steps of the plane at the Oxfordshire airport. Tulip Siddiq MP said “My heart broke” when Gabriella started playing the piano and singing.
The Richard Ratcliffe era
As of March 2022, Richard Ratcliffe is 47 years old.
Richard Ratcliffe Work and career
Before Richard Ratcliffe’s life turned upside down, he worked as an accountant. His LinkedIn indicates that he worked as an audit manager at the UK’s National Audit Office.
According Glass doorthe chief audit officer for the UK’s National Audit Office earns £57,003 a year in London.
What is the ethnicity of Richard Ratcliffe?
While Richard Ratcliffe is white British, his wife is of Iranian-British ethnicity.
Speaking about his background, Richard wrote in an article about the washington post 2019, “With human rights campaigns, there can be a risk of activist hagiography. I am aware that much of my family’s support comes from our privileged position. I’m middle class, white and have a BBC presenter’s accent. If I worked in a kebab shop this might be different, the story is seen or heard only once before the merry-go-round moves.”
Is Richard Ratcliffe on Twitter?
As reported, no, Richard Ratcliffe does not have a personal Twitter account. However, he has created a page to support his wife on Facebook (@free.nazaninratcliffe) and Twitter (@FreeNazanin).
Related FAQ
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Who is the father of Richard Ratcliffe?
Richard Ratcliffe’s father is John Ratcliffe. John recently described his son’s house as “terrible.” Richard’s mother, Barbara Ratcliffe, said: “He did, but if you can think about it, it was a three-bedroom apartment when they took Nazanin away and they just had the baby in there. Well, that baby is grown.
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Has Richard Ratcliffe shared his contact details?
He is only on social media and has not shared his contact information online.
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How much is Richard Ratcliffe net worth?
Richard Ratcliffe could have a net worth of more than $500,000.
Categories: Biography
Source: newstars.edu.vn