Aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed by Iran, but faces new court date

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was freed from house arrest in Iran Sunday at the end of a five-year prison sentence on spying charges, but her husband says she faces a new court date.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been detained for years over allegations of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government which she has repeatedly denied. She was temporarily released from prison last March and placed under house arrest, along with thousands of other prisoners, in an attempt to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Iran’s crowded jails. The Guardian had reported that unlike other prisoners, she had to wear an ankle monitor and have her movements restricted to 300 meters from her parents’ home.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe said he was told a new court case against her is scheduled for next Sunday.

“We welcome the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s ankle tag, but Iran’s continued treatment of her is intolerable,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. “She must be allowed to return to the UK as soon as possible to be reunited with her family.”

The opposition Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy hailed the move as “welcome progress,” but also warned of the “agony” Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family continue to face. The Foreign Office “must now step up efforts” to bring Zaghari-Ratcliffe home “without delay,” she added.