Family Calls For Action As Detained East Sussex Couple Pass 600 Days In Iranian Prison
The family of an East Sussex couple detained in Iran say it is “shocking” they have now spent more than 600 days in prison.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were detained in January 2025 while on a motorbike trip through Iran.
The couple were sentenced to 10 years in prison in February after being convicted of espionage – charges they both deny.
They remain detained at Tehran's Evin prison.
Supporters marked the 614th day of their detention on Wednesday with a motorbike ride through London before delivering a letter to the Iranian Embassy.
Lindsay's son, Joe Bennett, from Folkestone, said the UK Government needs to change its approach.
He said:
“It should shock people that they are still there.”
“If we continue to do the same things that we've been doing for the last 20 months, then I'll be standing here again in another 20 months saying the same thing.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says the couple's health and welfare is a “top priority”.
The family says it is particularly concerned about their welfare following what it describes as a three-month hunger strike.
They are also calling for regular phone contact with the couple to be restored.
Campaigner Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran for six years, joined Wednesday's demonstration.
He said:
“We're here to do what we can until they're home.”
Mims Davies, Conservative MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield, whose constituency includes the area where the Foremans lived, said there was cross-party support for efforts to secure their release.
She called on Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to take up the family's case.
The FCDO says the family met Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty in August, when he outlined the Government's efforts to secure the couple's release.
Comments