Mehran Raoof: Jeremy Corbyn calls for immediate release of Islington trade unionist still detained in Iran

Jeremy Corbyn MP has called for the immediate release of a British-Iranian trade unionist detained in Iran.

Mehran Raoof, 66, who studied in London and spent many years living in Islington - has been detained in Evin Prison in Tehran since October 2020.

Corbyn, who is Mr Raoof’s MP, is calling for his constituent’s release following the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recent report on ‘state hostage diplomacy.’

The damning report described the overall Foreign Office treatment of British nationals held hostage by states and of their families as hurtful and ineffectual, marked by poor coordination and excessive secrecy.

Mr Raoof was first arrested in a raid on his family home in October 2020 and was then held for months in solitary confinement on Ward 2A of Evin Prison.

He had been campaigning against unpaid wages, precarious working conditions, staggering inflation and poor living standards for Iranians and was arrested under crackdowns by the Iranian authorities.

In August 2021, Raoof was sentenced to ten years and eight months on national security-related charges after what Amensty Interational describes as a “grossly unfair” trial.

“Being a trade unionist should not be a crime, and Mehran should never have been detained let alone sentenced for ten-plus years for peacefully advocating for workers’ rights in Iran,” said Corbyn.

“Just last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee published its report ‘Stolen years: combatting state hostage diplomacy’ which refers to Mehran and Morad Tahbaz as two British nationals who’ve been left behind in Iran.

“Mehran is approaching the one-third point of his sentence and is now eligible for release - here is an important opportunity for the UK to take long overdue action on Mehran’s case and press for his immediate release.”

Last year Raoof and British-US-Iranian national Morad Tahbaz were excluded from a deal between the UK and Iran which brought Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori home to their families.

The pair were released after the UK government repaid a historic £400 million debt to Iran.

In a letter written from Evin Prison, Raoof said Iranian law enforcement is “subject to the interpretations and whims of those in power”, and that dual-national prisoners are used as “a valuable commodity” by the authorities in their dealings with other countries.

Raoof says people in Iran are being criminalised for their thoughts or peaceful activities, arbitrarily arrested and taken to “special detention centre[s]” run by the Ministry of Intelligence or Revolutionary Guards.

There they are held in “a solitary cell designed for ill-treatment” and interrogated blindfolded or “facing the wall”, or in special rooms with “smoked glass where the accused cannot see the interrogators”.

Of his own arrest, Raoof says that contrary to Iran’s own laws, he was denied access to a lawyer for eight months, and for several months his family and relatives were “completely unaware” of his fate and whereabouts”.

Raoof goes on to say that the Iranian government is “trying to get large sums of money for the exchange of dual nationals”.

Amnesty International has called on the UK government to “redouble its efforts” to secure his release.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: “This powerful and distressing letter is yet another reminder to the UK government that it needs to redouble its efforts to secure the release of Mehran, Morad Tahbaz and other UK nationals arbitrarily detained overseas.

“For years it’s been clear that the Iranian authorities have been arbitrarily detaining British nationals - along with people from the USA, Germany and elsewhere - and using them as diplomatic pawns.

“To know, as Mehran does, that dual nationals are being used as a ‘commodity’ by the Iranian authorities will be a shattering realisation and we need the FCDO to genuinely push for his and Morad’s release at every opportunity.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “It remains entirely within Iran’s gift to release any British National who has been unfairly detained. We urge Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals.”