UK's May to press Rouhani to free jailed woman

London: British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York Tuesday, where she will press him to release a British-Iranian women imprisoned in Tehran, a senior government official told reporters.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation — the media organisation’s philanthropic arm — was arrested at Tehran airport on April 3, 2016.

She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition, which she denies.

During a meeting with Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, “you can expect the prime minister to raise our ongoing consular cases, including that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe”, a the official said.

“The prime minister will express serious concern about Nazanin’s ongoing detention and call for her to be released upon humanitarian grounds.”

On Wednesday, May will hold one-on-one talks with US President Donald Trump, focusing on her hopes of agreeing a trade deal after Britain leaves the European Union.

“They both have a strong commitment to securing a strong UK-US free trade agreement when we’ve left,” the official said.

The pair will also discuss the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter earlier this year in the English city of Salisbury, which London and its allies — including Washington — blamed on Moscow.

Russia has strongly denied the accusation.