This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The husband of imprisoned charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has praised Jeremy Hunt for his handling of her case.

Richard Ratcliffe said the UK foreign secretary had given his wife’s case greater priority than had his predecessor, Boris Johnson.

The British-Iranian mother was released from Evin prison in Tehran on Thursday to stay with her family outside the capital. Following her voluntary return to prison on Sunday night, Ratcliffe praised Hunt for being “clear and critical” about his wife’s case.

Ratcliffe suggested there had been a change in Britain’s relationship with Iran since Hunt replaced Johnson last month.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Ratcliffe said he had “sensed a change in the way he has prioritised Nazanin’s case”.

“One of my complaints with the government was that it didn’t feel like it was sort of treating her case with the public severity that I thought it deserved.”

In relation to Hunt, Ratcliffe said: “He’s been great in that sense: he’s been clear and critical and he’s said ‘listen, she’s innocent and she shouldn’t be in prison, her treatment has been appalling’, and all the things that we’ve been asking the government to do.

“In terms of how the relationship with Iran has changed, well clearly she got out for a few days. That’s a pretty good sign and there have been some other improvements.”

On Sunday, Hunt said he had spoken to Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Friday, but added that this was not enough.

Hunt tweeted: “Looks like Iranian legal system is impervious to the simple fact at the heart of this: an innocent woman is desperate to be reunited with her family.”

Ratcliffe, who has been unable to get an Iranian visa, said his wife’s temporary release had been both a good sign and a difficult experience. He said: “It was a slight surprise that she was released but it felt consistent with positive noises, so it wasn’t just a bump, it was a proper brick wall yesterday that she was brought back in.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was sentenced to five years in jail after she was accused of spying on Tehran’s Islamist regime.

The 40-year-old denies the allegation, insisting she was on holiday in Iran to allow her daughter to spend time with relatives.

Her four-year-old daughter, Gabriella, has been staying with family since Zaghari-Ratcliffe, from Hampstead, north London, was detained at Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016.