22 DECEMBER 1990, Page 54

Christmas in prison

Sir: I wonder if I might use your corres- pondence columns to pass on greetings to Roger Cooper, who is a prisoner in Evjn jail in Teheran. I recently received a note from him which indicated that The Specta- tor (a subscription to which has been given him by a good friend) is delivered with commendable regularity to his cell; by contrast, few of the letters and cards we send him seem to arrive. Tira Shubart and I would therefore like to wish him, through you, as happy a Christmas as is possible under the circumstances, and a prosperous New Year in which his release, long overdue, will provide the greatest pleasure to his many friends.

John Simpson

London SW7