UK, France, Germany summon Iranian ambassadors over 'arbitrary' detention of dual citizens

Marking the first coordinated move by France, Germany and the United Kingdom against Iran's move to detain dual citizens and it's dealing with the political prisoners, the E3 countries have summoned their respective Iranian ambassadors.

According to the letter seen by The Guardian that was sent to Iran’s ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad, the British Foreign Office summoned the diplomat to meet with the senior officials while also calling the arbitrary detentions policy an attempt to undermine the nation’s global standing.

Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassadors in France and Germany are also being summoned in this week. This came in the backdrop of escalating concerns surrounding the Iranian security forces ramping up its pressure tactics on the detained dual nationals. The move comes as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British dual national who was detained back in 2016, is reported to have been slapped with a second set of charges with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers even visited her parents’ home this week where she is living under house arrest. 

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Outcry over the execution of Navid Afkari

Putting Iran’s security policies further under radar, there was also an outcry within the Islamic Republic over the execution of Navid Afkari. The Iranian wrestler was charged with the alleged killing of a security guard during the protests in 2018 and his execution triggered fresh demonstrations from the members of the Iranian civil society warning that Afkari’s death would not be successful in intimidating them. 

Meanwhile, France is also seeking the release of renowned French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkah who was arrested in 2018 and is reported to have been transferred to Ministry of Intelligence detention centre from the Elvin prison. The UK's letter to the Iranian ambassador is reported to have highlighted the concerns of the British government about the serious violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic. The document reportedly also expressed its worries with the Iranian government continuing persecution of human rights activists in the country along with alleged harassment of media and cultural organisations.

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Image: AP