UK issues travel warning for British-Iranian nationals
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/05/uk-issues-travel-warning-for-british.html
British-Iranian dual nationals should avoid all travels to Iran, the British Foreign Office said.
In
a statement, the Foreign Office said it has changed its travel advice
because of the Iranian government’s “continued arbitrary detention and
mistreatment of dual nationals.”
“The advice has also changed because of Iranian citizen links with UK institutions,” it added.
The
Foreign Office also advised British citizens against traveling to Iran,
saying they should not travel within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the
Iran-Afghanistan border and within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of
Iran-Iraq border.
It said Sistan-Baluchistan province and the area east of the line running from Bam to Jask, including Bam should be avoided.
“Dual
nationals face an intolerable risk of mistreatment if they visit Iran.
Despite the UK providing repeated opportunities to resolve this issue,
the Iranian regime’s conduct has worsened,” British Foreign Secretary
Jeremy Hunt said.
“Having exhausted all other options, I must now advise all British-Iranian dual nationals against travelling to Iran.
“The
dangers they face include arbitrary detention and lack of access to
basic legal rights, as we have seen in the case of Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been separated from her family since 2016,”
Hunt added.
“Regrettably,
I must also offer a message of caution to Iranian nationals resident in
the UK – but who return to visit family and friends – especially where
the Iranian government may perceive them to have personal links to UK
institutions or the British government,” he said.
Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested in
2016 without access to a lawyer and sentenced to five years in prison
after being convicted of spying for an illegal group.