The UK government is in denial of the number of hostages in foreign states and has failed to fulfill the promise to teach a special word that started the problem, said Nazan: Nazan S Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in an Iranian prison for six years to claim in March 2022, was released at a conference dedicated to the growing international hostage situation.
“The government has a moral duty to take care of each and every citizen without being arbitrarily detained abroad,” he said. “That duty should be fair. Unfortunately, the government’s policy in such cases is prejudice. If you are not, you will be left with the rest of them.”
The conference heard widespread fears from hostage families that the UK has not mobilized government resources to deliver systematic counseling and reunification to families of families of unarmed prisoners.
Speaking at the conference, Joe Bennett, the son of Lindsay Foreman – who is now held in a prison in Spying, but not only contact other families who are in similar crises. He reported that his mother felt murdered, and was now on a hunger strike. He said he was willing to join him in the strike if it helped.
“I think the biggest battle is fighting the government to make them do something … that shouldn’t be happening,” he said. “It feels like even at the moment we’re a bit of a shocker. I think we as a country and government need to take that step and tell it like it is.”
The Labor Manifesto made a commitment to grant a right to consular assistance in human rights cases, but the law did not appear.
Previous foreign secretary David Lammy said before the summer that the appointment of an envoy would be made by the end of the year. But there are concerns that the envoy may not have access to the UK Prime Minister, or powers given to US envoys for hostages. A recent Executive order gives the US President the power to designate a state as a hostage-taking state.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe explained that after his case, the UK’s foreign affairs select committee organized an inquiry into how the government handled hostage situations. “This is an unprecedented policy,” he said. “One of the recommendations is to establish a hostage envoy … personally met with the foreign secretary to explain how important it is to deal with the hostage. However, there is no progress in dealing with the hostage. However, there is no progress in dealing with the hostage.
Describing his experience in prison, he said: “I keep telling myself, surely my life has always involved a woman.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, a KC and a Human Rights Barter in Diugty Sayon Sayon, said: it feels like we have exactly the same fights. “