UK charity worker returning home from Iran after nearly six-year detainment

A British charity worker who was detained in Iran for nearly six years is headed home from Tehran on Wednesday.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was set to return to the United Kingdom after her 2016 arrest for plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, charges which she has denied, according to multiple sources.

After her passport was returned to her earlier this week, she was in a holding room with another British-Iranian detainee, Anoosheh Ashoori, who was arrested in 2017 for spying accusations that he too has denied, according to the BBC.

“Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home,” tweeted British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, who represents Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s constituency and has pressed for her release, according to The Associated Press. “I came into politics to make a difference, and right now I’m feeling like I have.”

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said securing the safety and freedom of dual national detainees is “an absolute priority,” the BBC reported.

The outlet also noted a debt worth over $500 million regarding a canceled order for 1,500 Chieftain tanks connected to the detention of the UK-Iranian citizens.  

Truss called that debt “legitimate” and said that the government was “looking for ways to pay” it.

Last October, Richard Ratcliffe, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, who lives with their 6-year-old daughter Gabriella in London, protested for his wife’s release by going on a hunger strike, BBC also said.

He has not yet released a statement about his wife’s release.