THERE was “euphoria” as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the wife of Farnham man Richard Ratcliffe, was allowed to remove her ankle tag at the culmination of her five-year jail sentence in Iran this week, her sister-in-law told the Herald.

But Dr Rebecca Ratcliffe – who, like her brother, grew up in Ewshot just north of the town – added her family’s anxiety is already creeping back in, with Nazanin, 42, set to face a further court hearing this Sunday for unspecified reasons.

Nazanin, whose only daughter Gabriella flew back to the UK after three years separated from her dad in 2019, was jailed in the Islamic Republic in 2016 accused of plotting to overthrow its government – charges she strongly denies.

She completed the latter stages of her sentence under house arrest, living with her parents in Tehran, and had her ankle tag removed on Sunday – but she is now facing fresh charges of spreading propaganda against the Iranian regime.

Nazanin has been able to leave her parents’ house, visiting her grandmother and friends this week for the first time in years – but is yet to be given back her passport.

Sister-in-law Rebecca said: “She’s full of smiles and seems quite positive, and her family are very positive, but we’ll see what happens on Sunday.

“They don’t have many good days in Iran – it’s been a very tense environment for the past five years – so Sunday was a really good day for them and they felt it.

“But I think as the week goes on, you’ll see that euphoria fading as the anxiety starts creeping back in.”

The Iranian justice system has given no indication as to what to expect on Sunday, raising fears a second sentence may be handed down.

But Richard has spoken publicly of his belief his wife and other British-Iranian dual nationals are being held as “political hostages” because Iran wants the UK to pay a decades-old debt over an arms deal.

Rebecca added: “At the outset, a five-year sentence was our worst-case scenario, and Nazanin has been counting down to her release date. But now she hasn’t been released on that date, what does that mean for her? How long is this going to be dragged out?

“She is a political hostage and I suspect the Iranians are just trying to put pressure on the British government and use her for political leverage.

“Other dual nationals who have been released have said there is a lot of game playing, but whether this is coming towards the end or whether this is the start of a new sentence, we just have no idea.”