LONDON: The family of British Iranian prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori was forced to pay £27,000 ($35,000) to the Iranian government within 12 hours to secure his release.

They rushed to raise the money and deliver it in cash to Evin prison authorities, who have detained political prisoners for years.

British Foreign Office negotiators were informed late on Monday that Ashoori’s release would not be processed unless the fine was paid the following day.

The money was paid and Ashooori was released along with famous fellow British Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on Wednesday after Britain released £400 million ($527 million) that the regime claimed it was owed following a deal between the British government and the old Iranian monarchy in the 1970s.

Ashoori was arrested in 2017 while visiting his mother and two years later was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for “spying for Israel’s Mossad” and for “acquiring illegitimate wealth.” Ashoori strenuously denied the charges.

His wife Sherry Izadi told The Guardian: “We had less than 12 hours to raise the money, taking out loans using our credit cards and opening new accounts. My only thought was: ‘How are we going to do this in time?’”

She added: “At first the government officials in Tehran demanded my nephew meet them outside the prison with a suitcase full of cash, but he demanded to go inside the prison and be given a receipt. They kept dragging it out, demanding to count the money and check whether it was counterfeit.”

Izadi was unable to tell Ashoori about the deal for his release. “I could not tell him what I knew since I was told lives were at risk,” she said.

The family is planning to launch a crowdfunding website to help recover the funds they urgently gathered to secure his freedom.