Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and husband end simultaneous hunger strikes after two weeks, despite her continued imprisonment

‘I’m relieved because I wouldn’t have wanted her to push it much longer,’ says husband

Jailed British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has ended her hunger strike after 15 days in an Iranian prison.

The charity worker’s husband Richard Ratcliffe, who has also ended his own hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy in London, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme his wife had eaten some porridge with apple and banana.

He said: “I’m relieved because I wouldn’t have wanted her to push it much longer.”

Mr Ratcliffe, who fears his wife’s health is deteriorating due to her long imprisonment, has been sleeping in a tent outside the embassy.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained for the past three years after being accused of spying – a charge she strongly denies – and sentenced to five years in prison.

The dual national was arrested in April 2016 at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran as she headed back to the UK with her daughter after a family visit.

She launched the hunger strike in protest at her “unfair imprisonment” – with her husband also vowing to fast in an act of solidarity.

The couple chose to start the hunger strike after the fifth birthday of their daughter, Gabriella, who has not been allowed to leave Iran since her arrest.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe last carried out a hunger strike in January in protest against being refused access to medical care. In December, the 40-year-old completed her 1,000th day in detention.

Her treatment has prompted persisting tension between London and Tehran – with the UK government calling for her urgent and unconditional release.

The foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt granted Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe diplomatic protection in March but Tehran refuses to acknowledge her dual nationality.