LONDON: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran, believes she has contracted the new coronavirus as Iran struggles to contain a surge in new cases, her husband said on Saturday.
The 41-year-old detainee complained that prison authorities are refusing to test her for the COVID-19 virus, despite suffering from a worsening “strange cold,” according to spouse Richard Ratcliffe.
“I am not good. I feel very bad in fact,” Zaghari-Ratcliffe told her husband in a phone call Saturday from the prison, he revealed in a statement.
“For a long time this has not felt like a normal cold,” she added, noting her symptoms included a sore throat, fever and difficulty breathing.
“I know I need to get medicine to get better. This does not go magically.”
Ratcliffe urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure that his wife is tested immediately, and that British-Iranians “held hostage in Evin Prison are diplomatically protected.”
His appeal comes as Iran on Saturday reported a surge in new coronavirus cases, with the number of deaths jumping to 43.
But Tehran dismissed as “rumors” a BBC Persian report, citing unnamed sources in the Islamic republic’s health system, that at least 210 people have so far died from the outbreak inside the country.
Ratcliffe warned in his statement that reports suggest COVID-19 has infected Evin Prison.
His wife was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 after visiting relatives in Iran with their young daughter.
She worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation — the media organization’s philanthropic arm — at the time.
Iranian authorities convicted her of sedition — a charge Zaghari-Ratcliffe has always contested — and she is serving a five-year jail term.
Jailed UK-Iranian woman fears she has coronavirus says husband
https://arab.news/wg6d7
Jailed UK-Iranian woman fears she has coronavirus says husband
- The detainee complained that prison authorities are refusing to test her for the COVID-19 virus, despite suffering from a worsening “strange cold”
- Ratcliffe warned in his statement that reports suggest COVID-19 has infected Evin Prison
Israel cuts off water and electricity to UNRWA in Jerusalem
- Israeli energy minister oversaw the execution of legislation passed at the end of 2025 to cut off water and electricity to UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem
LONDON: Israeli authorities cut off water and electricity to the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees located in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen visited UNRWA premises on Wednesday with workers from the water and waste company Hagihon to oversee the cessation of services.
“I arrived this morning to ensure that the water was cut off from the organization’s offices,” he told Israeli media.
Cohen was overseeing the execution of legislation passed at the end of 2025 to cut off water and electricity to UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, following a decision in late 2024 to prevent the UN agency from operating in East Jerusalem and Israel.
In January, Israel forced UNRWA to evacuate its main office located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, after which it seized it and demolished it. Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, and Spain condemned the demolition.
UNRWA employs 12,000 staff in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and its healthcare, education, and social protection services are essential for Palestinians, including those residing in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
