Jailed British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe suspends hunger strike

UK-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and a leading Iranian human rights activist have suspended their hunger strike after prison authorities allowed them to resume medical treatment externally, her husband said Wednesday.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 40, was arrested in April 2016 as she was leaving Iran after taking her infant daughter to visit her family and was sentenced to five years for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.

She began the hunger strike on Monday along with Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested in 2015 and jailed for 10 years for "forming and managing an illegal group".

"Nazanin and Narges have ended their hunger strike today and have not extended it beyond the original three days," Richard Ratcliffe said in a statement.

"We welcome confirmation from the prison authorities that they will be allowed to resume treatment at outside hospitals where they had both been previously treated," he said.

Ratcliffe said his wife had detected a lump in her breast and complained of numbness in her arms and legs.

A project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the media group's philanthropic arm, she denies all charges.