‘My Dad Should Have Come Home With Nazanin – The British Government Have Left Him Behind’

‘As a family, we’ve been advised by the Foreign Office to stay quiet and be private citizens about this since 2018 [when Morad Tahbaz] was first detained in Iran. So we didn’t make a big fuss because we were told that could be detrimental to his case, but we’ve been let down so egregiously. We can’t wait anymore, we have to step out of the shadows and ask for help.’

Roxanne Tahbaz, 35, is the daughter of Morad Tahbaz, 66, a conservationist and co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF). Holding British, American and Iranian citizenship, Morad was visiting Iran for a few weeks in January 2018 - part of a group of conservationists tracking endangered species – when he was arrested during a crackdown on environmental activists by the Iranian government. He has been held in Iran ever since, sentenced to 10 years in prison.

‘It’s been a rollercoaster, we’ve had so many moments of hope that have been dashed,’ Roxanne, one of Morad’s three children, tells Grazia. Last month, Morad was supposed to come home with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, part of the deal forged by the British government that saw them finally acknowledge and pay a £400m debt owed to the Iranian government since 1979. But at the last minute, while Nazanin and fellow dual-national Anoosheh Ashoori boarded their plane home, Morad was held behind. He was initially put on house arrest, but returned to prison two days later where he underwent a nine-day hunger strike in protest.

‘It was devastating,’ Roxanne says. ‘It’s been over four years, they said “This is it!” so we started to let go of some of that anguish we’ve all been holding, only for this to be a real shock to the system. It was gut-wrenching.

‘The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [FCDO] issued a statement saying his case is more complicated because the Iranians chose to treat him as American, but we find that unacceptable because he was born in England and it’s his birth right to be protected by his country and his government. The truth of the matter is they simply deserted him, and that’s what was so hurtful - they abandoned him.’

Roxanne reached out to her local MP, Felicity Buchan, who raised Morad’s case in the House of Commons after he was re-detained, but ultimately, the Tahbaz family have been failed by the British government.

And it’s not just Morad: Roxanne’s mother Vida, 64, is also unable to leave Iran. She travelled with her husband as a guest on the conservationist work trip (‘They’ve been married for 43 years, they don’t like to be apart,’ Roxanne says), and after Morad was arrested, the Iranian government took her passport so she could not leave the country.

‘She was a part of the deal as well [to get all British-Iranian detainees home]. We were told my dad was going to be on the plane with Nazanin and that my mum would be let off her travel ban and would be coming home after. That quickly changed to him being on an unrestricted furlough, which means he would be on a travel ban in Iran and they would lift her travel ban. But they’re both still exactly where they were before this alleged deal was presented to us.’

How is her mum coping? ‘She’s an incredible woman, I’ve never seen anyone love anyone so fiercely, she is his lifeline. They’re strong for each other but she is obviously watching and hearing what my father is going through so she’s beside herself. There must be so much pain and anguish there because we’ve lost over four years of our lives to this.’

It’s the lost time that’s hardest to cope with, Roxanne says. ‘My dad and I, especially in my later 20s, became really good friends. I'd ring him for everything, advice about relationships, my personal life, work. He was my rock and his moral compass always pointed north so I could always trust him to be able to guide me.

'The last four years I’ve felt like I'm almost in mourning, but you can't fully mourn because every time you do get a moment where you can shout across that you love them or miss them, you're reminded that they're there, but not really there. And so you live with a ghost, essentially, because you can't connect in the same way. We haven't felt like we've had a birthday or Christmas in five years - the last was the one we shared with our parents. I think I speak for not just myself but my siblings as well: we don't want to celebrate our birthdays.’

Morad has also been seriously ill, diagnosed with cancer while in prison and testing positive for Covid twice. Last year, UN human rights experts warned that he had been denied access to proper treatment despite his health condition deteriorating. For Roxanne, that’s been ‘terrifying’ for the family, being so helpless, but she says Morad never wants to share his pain with the family.

‘He’s an incredible father, he never talks about how he’s treated in prison. When he gets his minute [to communicate with family] he wants to hear about us. He doesn’t want us to be worried because he’s a dad. It’s hard for us to do that when you’re feeling paralytic levels of distress.’

The Tahbaz family do not have a direct line to Morad, but they can speak sporadically when he’s able to contact their mother – who puts the phone on speaker to the rest of the family when possible. But even with the strength her parents have shown, Roxanne knows some things have changed for good.

‘My parents were always incredibly happy, vibrant people. A lot of their demeanour has been shrouded with melancholy. I don’t think anyone is equipped to deal with this sort of emotional strife for this kind of period of time. Nobody is built for this.’

Now, Roxanne just hopes the public will keep her father’s story alive so that the government fulfil their promise to bring her parents’ home. ‘The FCDO promised that and the foreign secretary and prime minister should get behind that. We’re in a position now where we as a family have to insist that promise is upheld. We can’t sit in the dark and hope they’re doing their job - we have to speak out and demand they keep their end of the deal.

To help support the Tahbaz family and keep up with Morad's case, follow their Twitter page here.

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