An Iranian-British who was released by Tehran in mid-March after years in prison told himself “a little angrythat the British government did not act more quickly, accusing Prime Minister Boris Johnson ofopportunism,

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Retired engineer Anusheh Ashuri, 68, was arrested in August 2017 while visiting his mother and sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for Israel, charges he has always denied. After settling London’s £394 million watch debt on Iran, he returned to Britain on 17 March, along with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, another bi-national, held for six years.

“a little opportunism”

In an interview broadcast by Sky News on Thursday evening, March 24, Anusheh Ashuri accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was previously Foreign Secretary, of ignoring calls from his wife to meet with him to discuss his case. , ,He made several attempts and none succeeded.“, he lamented. However, after his return, he said he had received a letter from the conservative leader, and “he really wants to see us now“, He continued. “I guess there is a bit of opportunism (…) Why couldn’t this letter have been sent five months, a year, two years ago? Why now?“, he added, thinking”not sure» that he would accept the meeting.

A voice message that the detainee managed to transmit to Boris Johnson in 2019 at the risk of his compromise.SecurityThere was also no response: “Unfortunately it didn’t take even five minutes to call my family“. Anusheh Ashuri agreed with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who told a news conference on Monday that early repayment of debt by the British could have saved him from prison.”It was not a ransom but a loan which belonged to the British government. She should have been paid and if she had, nothing like this probably would have happened. so yeah i’m a little annoyed“, he told.

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In an interview with the daily The Guardian, the Londoner reported that the British Foreign Office had advised his family not to comment publicly on his detention for two years. ,If we hadn’t listened, we might have got better results sooner.,