Former Brit 'hostage' ran marathon to raise money to save dogs from Iranian regime

A British businessman held in a Tehran jail at same time as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and released on same day - ran the London marathon to raise money to rescue Iranian dogs . Anoosheh Ashoori, 72, said the way the evil Iranian regime treats its pet dogs is appalling and he is now dedicating some of his fund-raising efforts to saving the lives of as many as possible. He finished Sunday’s race in 5 hours 57 minutes and raised £3,400 to help rescue dogs from the war-torn country. He said: “Dogs are poisoned and they are shot by the authorities in Iran. “Private dog shelters try to save and treat these dogs, and try to send them outside Iran to new owners sometimes. “We are not mentioning the names of the dog shelters, as they authorities could go to those shelters and either extort money from them or close them down.” He recalled his time in jail where he spent “1677 days as a hostage.” He said: “I could hear shots fired at night. Municipality workers shot them. “Many did not die immediately and we heard them howling in pain. I was helpless to help these poor creatures, in the face of these overpowering atrocities.” Ashoori, from South London is still close friends with Zaghari-Ratcliffe after their shared ordeal. He said: “Nazanin and I have been in very regular contact and we both support change in Iran. The last time we were together was on the anti far-right march in London about a month ago, in the Amnesty International group.” He explained why he was passionating campaigning for the “forgotten” dogs of Iran and raising money. “I even postponed my shoulder operation until next week just so I could run the marathon. He went on: “What is happening in Iran is creating suffering for all beings – human and animal – being tyrannised by the regime. “My first four marathons were for raising awareness of atrocities against human via Hostages International and Amnesty International.” He added: “One of the reasons why I managed to survive in prison was optimism. We cannot just sit here and watch. We can speed up the process of getting rid of the evil regime. “We can use all the power we have as citizens, by being vocal, reach out to our MPs, and ask them to pressure the government to ban the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation. “There are dire conditions for many families in Iran too. Hope and effort are vital to achieve change in Iran. My key lessons from prison in Iran are: always know that perseverance pays off. And rule number two is: never forget rule number one.” Ashoori, and Zachary-Ratcliffe were both released on 16 March 2022. Ashoori is a British-Iranian businessman formerly detained in Evin jail in Iran. Iranian authorities arrested him in August 2017, when he was in the country to visit his mother. In August 2019, the Iranian judiciary sentenced Ashoori to 12 years in prison; 10 years for allegedly "spying for Israel's Mossad" and two years for "acquiring illegitimate wealth” His fund-raising link is. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/anoosheh-ashoori-1