Kin of couple detained in Iran urge UK to win their freedom by Christmas
The son of a British couple jailed in Iran on spying charges has implored the UK government to secure their release before Christmas, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The son of a British couple jailed in Iran on spying charges has implored the UK government to secure their release before Christmas, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
Joe Bennett said his mother, Lindsay Foreman, and her husband, Craig, were arrested in January while traveling through Iran on a world tour. Both are being held in Tehran’s Evin prison and deny the charges.
“My family can’t carry on like this,” Bennett said. “This can’t be normalised. Silence is complicity.”
He said Mrs. Foreman is isolated and surrounded by people who do not speak English, while her husband is suffering from an untreated tooth abscess. “Every day is a waiting game, not knowing if she’s okay,” he said. “It’s a nightmare that never ends.”
The UK Foreign Office said it is providing consular support and continues to raise the case with Iranian officials.
The Foremans were tried in October, when relations between London and Tehran hit new lows after Britain and its European partners reimposed sanctions on Iran over nuclear concerns. Family members told the BBC they were not allowed to attend the hearing.
In recent weeks, Bennett said he has watched France secure the release of its detained nationals and urged British leaders to act. “The French didn’t wait,” he said. “Their president spoke up and their citizens came home. Why hasn’t Britain done the same?”
Iran freed two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, earlier this month after more than three years in custody. President Emmanuel Macron said the pair had left Tehran’s Evin prison and were en route to the French Embassy, calling it “a first step” in ongoing dialogue between Paris and Tehran.
Earlier, Bennett told the Daily Telegraph the family was open to appealing for help from US President Donald Trump, who has recently signaled a willingness to re-engage diplomatically with Tehran. The family met Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper last month to press for progress.
Rights groups have described the case as part of a wider pattern of “hostage diplomacy” by Tehran, which denies detaining foreigners for political leverage.
