BRIT mum Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been temporarily released from prison in Iran, her family has revealed.

Nazanin – who has been caged in Tehran since 2016 on trumped-up spying charges – was set free on two-week furlough.

She will have to wear an electronic ankle tag for the next fortnight until April 4, when she is scheduled to be returned to prison.

And she has to stay within 300m of her parents’ home in Iran for the duration of her release.

Speaking after her release, the Brit mum said: “I am so happy to be out. Even with the ankle tag, I am so happy.

“Being out is so much better than being in – if you knew what hell this place is. It is mental.

“Let us hope it will be the beginning of coming home.”

Being out is so much better than being in – if you knew what hell this place is. It is mental."

Nazanin was one of 85,000 prisoners released by Iran today in a desperate bid to stop coronavirus spreading through the country’s overcrowded and disease-ridden jails.

Her family and supporters had raised serious concerns for her health, with husband Richard saying earlier this month she was showing "all the symptoms" of Covid-19.

He had repeatedly called for her to be released temporarily after the deadly virus ripped through the notorious Evin prison where she is being held.

But authorities had so far refused, until today.

Mr Ratcliffe said he had “mixed feelings” about his wife’s temporary release.

He said: “This furlough is a positive step, but it is not a victory – a two week release with a permanent ankle tag and a 300m range is obviously not meant to be a solution.”

The dad added: “It is one feeling to walk out of prison. It is completely different to walk back in. No one should be asked to go and be a hostage again.”

Nazanin echoed these feelings, saying she was “so, so nervous” about what to tell her daughter Gabriella.

Following the temporary release of Nazanin Naghari-Ratcliffe, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "I am relieved that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was today temporarily released into the care of her family in Iran.

"We urge the regime to ensure she receives any necessary medical care.

"While this is a welcome step, we urge the government now to release all UK dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran, and enable them to return to their families in the UK."

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