THE welfare of detained British citizens in Iran was the subject of a House of Lords debate called by the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, on Thursday.
Dr Francis-Dehqani was born in Iran, fleeing as a refugee at the age of 13 after threats to her family, and the assassination of her brother, during the Islamic Revolution. She has not been able to return.
In the debate, she asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Collins, “if he is willing to acknowledge the reality that these detainees are, to all intents and purposes, hostages. . . There are many foreign or dual nationals languishing in Iran’s jails, typically arrested on spurious allegations and denied access to a fair and free trial, contrary to international law.
“There have been at least 66 foreign individuals detained — held hostage — by Iranian authorities since 2010, 16 of whom had either British or dual nationality.”
The Bishop said that “religious minorities are also systematically persecuted in Iran, and religious freedom is severely curtailed for everyone except Persian-speaking Shias”. She continued: “Christians who have converted from Islam are among the most vulnerable to persecution. They are regularly arrested and can face lengthy imprisonment on bogus charges of acting against national security.”
She was praying, she said, “for the release of all British and dual nationals who have been arbitrarily arrested in Iran and for all those who are suffering oppression because of the regime. I pray, too, for better days ahead for Iran and Iranians.”
Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat), who mentioned that she had known Dr Francis-Deqhani’s brother before he had returned to Iran, where he was murdered, asked about the Government’s promised “appointment of a special envoy for complex detention cases”, which had yet to be made.
The Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, referring to “broader issues of nuclear weapons and armaments”, said: “It is critical that we take steps to prevent Iran’s nuclear escalation, including stricter sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to China.”
Responding on behalf of the Government, Lord Collins thanked Dr Francis-Deqhani for “her personal reflections on her birthplace, [which] is being distorted by its current government”. Detention cases, he said, were “among the most difficult, complex and sensitive cases handled by our officials and are enormously distressing for the families of those detained”.
He offered assurances that the Government was working “very closely with our international partners to tackle unfair detentions. . . Supporting British nationals detained in Iran will remain an absolute priority for this government, alongside advising against travel to Iran to prevent such incidents.”