Rowan Williams has urged the Foreign Office to involve religious leaders such as the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis in helping secure the release of the British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being detained in Iran 'as a matter of urgency'.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury said that the case now needed 'non-partisan, non-political intervention'.
Dr Williams told Christian Today: 'This disturbing situation now needs some clear non-partisan, non-political intervention, and I am sure that the involvement of religious leaders has the capacity to break the current deadlock. I hope the Foreign Office will explore this as matter of urgency.'
The relatively rare public comments from Dr Williams echo the call by the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee of MPs, Tom Tugendhat, who suggested in the House of Commons on Monday that Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, involve Justin Welby and Pope Francis in helping to negotiate Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release with the Islamic clerics who run Iran's judicial system.
'This poor woman is being used as a political football not only sadly here but in Iran,' Tugendhat, who is a Catholic, told MPs. 'Would he [Johnson] consider calling on people in our own system who could talk to the Mullahs, perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury or indeed the Holy Father, to speak on behalf of this woman and seek to broker her release?'
Responding, Johnson again apologised for troublesome remarks he made about the case earlier this month before Tugendhat's committee but simply said 'no stone will be left unturned' in efforts to secure her release.
Dr Williams's comments come as the UK Government is reported to be considering both issuing diplomatic protection for Zaghari-Ratcliffe and paying off a longstanding £450 million debt to Iran to help secure her release.
Christian Today reached out to the Foreign Office on Tuesday about Tugendhat's suggestion and has had no response. It is understood that so far neither Lambeth Palace nor the Vatican have been approached by the Foreign Office.
