Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in hospital after suffering panic attacks in Iran jail

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said his wife has been taken to the prison clinic after she 'blacked out'.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella during her temporary release from prison in Iran. Picture: PA Wire

Richard Ratcliffe told the Press Association: “What I do know is that she had a panic attack yesterday in prison and she had another panic attack today, and today she also blacked out, so today she was taken down to the prison clinic and as far as I know that’s where she is still.

“I’ve seen reports saying she’s been taken to an external hospital but I haven’t had those confirmed.”

Mr Ratcliffe said she spoke yesterday of a headache and feeling numbness in her legs and numbness in her right arm and a rash.

He said: “She had the panic attack, got taken down to the clinic and they said ... she had very low blood pressure.

“I think it feels like the physical symptoms of crushing disappointment since she went back into prison.

“Certainly, yesterday the head of the prison was worried enough to come down and see her and ask her how she was and what’s going on. He clearly was very surprised that she’d been brought back into prison and asked her why and what’s happened.”

Mr Ratcliffe said one of the other prisoners called for help, adding: “We’re clearly very, very worried.”

He added: “She certainly, when I spoke to her on the phone yesterday morning, she was devastated and it was amongst the hardest phone calls I’ve had with her, just really sad. Yes, gutted.

“They’ll be trying to assess how serious they think it is but the fact that it’s happened now two days in a row, and that she passed out, yes, they’ll be worried, as are we.”

He added he would wait by the phone and the family had been in touch with the British Embassy.

He said: “It’s been such a whirlwind this past few (days), just keeping up with events.”

Her four-year-old daughter Gabriella, he said had been due to have a family visit today, adding: “We don’t know if that family visit has been cancelled yet.”