British-Iranian Woman's Health Deteriorates In Iran Prison

Iranian-British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, undated. File photo

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —

The head of the Thomson Reuters Foundation says she's "sincerely worried" about a detained British-Iranian national going on hunger strike to protest her treatment in the Islamic Republic.

Monique Villa said in a statement that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's "health is already at its poorest" and that she hasn't received access to serious medical care after discovering lumps in her breasts.

Villa said: "This is slow and cruel torture, yet one more injustice inflicted upon her." Zaghari-Ratcliffe is set to begin a three-day hunger strike on Monday. She will be joined by famed imprisoned Iranian human rights activists Narges Mohammadi.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year prison sentence in Iran for plotting the "soft toppling" of its government while traveling with her toddler daughter. Her sentence has been widely criticized.