Letter from Prison: British-Iranian Activist Says Jailed Dual Nationals are Denied Rights

An Iranian-British labor activist who has been incarcerated for two years and a half has written a letter from Tehran’s Evin prison criticizing the treatment of dual nationals imprisoned in Iran.

In his letter, which was published by the activist HRANA news agency on April 12, Mehran Raouf said that dual citizens are denied their rights while in custody, pointing out that temporary or conditional leave, parole and "amnesty" are rarely granted to jailed dual nationals.

He also accused the Islamic Republic of incarcerating dual citizens on baseless accusations for the sole purpose of using them as “bargaining chips” with foreign governments.

"I and many political prisoners, women's rights activists, environmental activists and labor activists are accused of having an opinion, and we are in prison for having a different belief and for protesting wrong and authoritarian policies and laws,” the 66-year-old activist wrote.

Raouf was detained in Tehran on October 16, 2020, as security forces ransacked his home and confiscated his personal belongings. 

He was held in solitary confinement for several months during which he was kept in a room where the lights remained on 24 hours a day.

In 2021, Raouf was handed a 10-year sentence, along with Nahid Taghivi, a German-Iranian prominent campaigner for women's rights, and other activists.

Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage to use them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

The sister of Bernard Phélan, a French-Irish national who has been incarcerated in Iran for half a year, told IranWire last week that he is in “poor” physical condition and risks losing his vision.