{"id":2959,"date":"2022-03-17T19:36:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T19:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/world-news\/uk\/2959\/"},"modified":"2022-03-17T19:36:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T19:36:06","slug":"anoosheh-ashoori-wife-of-freed-iran-detainee-calls-return-magical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/world-news\/uk\/2959\/","title":{"rendered":"Anoosheh Ashoori: Wife of freed Iran detainee calls return magical"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The wife of one of the British-Iranians freed by Iran described her return home to the UK as “magical”.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anoosheh Ashoori is back in Lewisham, southeast London, after being arrested in 2017 on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, attempted suicide twice and went on a 17-day hunger strike during his detention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sherry Izadi said: “I hugged him, I talked to him, I held his hand but it still feels unreal.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She told BBC London: “To be able to physically touch someone you’ve spent your whole life with and haven’t seen for five years, and I think it was the same for the kids, it was a deep, deep emotional moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I can’t put it into words.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, was also released and the two were met by loved ones at RAF Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning when they arrived from Iran, via Oman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Ashoori’s daughter, Elika Ashoori, has spoken of her happiness at seeing her father, sharing a video of the couple’s arrival.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • The Iranian-British family is delighted with his release<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    The 67-year-old finally left Tehran on Wednesday after his release was secured following months of negotiations between London and Tehran and the payment of a \u00a3400m debt from the 1970s that the UK owed Iran for a order for tanks and armored vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The UK canceled the order after the Iranian revolution in 1979 and Iran demanded its money back for undelivered vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Ms. Izadi described how chocolate and apples got her through some of the darkest days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    She said: \u201cWe have all aged considerably, we have been through trauma. We have had financial difficulties, physical, mental and daily pressures of life. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “It’s been incredibly difficult, but we’re so relieved it’s over and we can now start to rebuild again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “It’s either giving up and giving up completely, or it’s fighting and, you know, the former is never an option,” he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter <\/a>and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n