Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe suffers panic attack and collapses in Iranian prison

Charity worker 'passed out', says husband

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella, after the charity worker was given temporary release from prison in Iran for three days (PA)

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the mother jailed for spying by Iran, has suffered two panic attacks following her return to prison and been rushed to doctors, according to reports.

The British-Iranian charity worker, who denies the accusations, was recalled to Evin prison in Iran, after a request for an extension to a three-day furlough was denied.

On Wednesday her husband confirmed she had fallen unconscious after the panic attacks.

Richard Ratcliffe said: “What I do know is that she had a panic attack yesterday in prison and she had another panic attack today, and today she also blacked out, so today she was taken down to the prison clinic and as far as I know that’s where she is still.

“I’ve seen reports saying she’s been taken to an external hospital but I haven’t had those confirmed.”

The Independent has contacted Mr Ratcliffe for comment.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyer had previously been confident of extending her furlough. Mr Ratcliffe called the decision to put his wife back behind bars “beyond cruel”.

During her temporary release Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was reunited with her family including her young daughter.

After she was recalled Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, called it a “crushing disappointment”.

She said: “There were real hopes that not only would her three-day furlough be extended, but that her permanent and unconditional release was also just around the corner.

“We shouldn’t lose sight of what Nazanin has had to endure – nearly two-and-a-half years behind bars, eight gruelling months of solitary confinement without a lawyer, a deeply unfair trial, and also being subjected to a string of unfounded accusations from the Iranian authorities.”

On Wednesday, Mr Ratcliffe added that his wife had spoken yesterday of a headache, and feeling numbness in her legs and numbness in her right arm, and a rash.

He said: “She had the panic attack, got taken down to the clinic and they said ... she had very low blood pressure.

“I think it it feels like the physical symptoms of crushing disappointment since she went back into prison.

“Certainly, yesterday the head of the prison was worried enough to come down and see her and ask her how she was and what’s going on. He clearly was very surprised that she’d been brought back into prison and asked her why and what’s happened.”