British couple lose Iran jail sentence appeal, family says
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple who were jailed in Iran on espionage charges, have lost an appeal against their 10‑year sentence. Their family said the appeal was rejected without any reason given.
The couple were arrested in January 2025 while passing through Iran on a round‑the‑world motorcycle trip. They were accused of spying – charges the pair vehemently deny – and were sentenced in February.
Both are currently on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison.
An adviser on their UK legal team said no reason was given for the rejection of the appeal. Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, stated his parents were not allowed to attend the hearing. He said, “It is a serious human rights violation, and it is one more reason why these two British citizens are now starving themselves in protest.”
Bennett detailed that his mother and step‑father were asked to sign documents in Farsi that they could not read, and they refused.
The legal team describes the couple as innocent tourists who have had their fundamental rights repeatedly violated during detention.
The case has now been forwarded to the Iranian Supreme Court, though Bennett says the family does not understand the process or what might happen next.
The couple have been prevented from calling family in the UK since giving a BBC interview more than a month ago. They began a hunger strike shortly after communications were cut.
Craig, a carpenter, has not eaten for 25 days; Lindsay, a life coach, resumed eating briefly but is now on day 16 of her strike.
Reports from their cellmates indicate Craig is taking sugar, milk and water, yet is visibly thin and weak. Bennett is desperate for information about his mother’s condition and notes the last consular visit was in December.
The UK Foreign Office has called the incarceration “unjustified and appalling” and reminded citizens that a British passport can be enough reason for Iranian authorities to detain them.
Former hostages and political figures have been referenced by family members as a warning of the significance of the appeal’s failure. It has been suggested that the case sends a message to the British government about Iranian intentions towards foreign nationals.
The Foreign Office stated it will continue to work to secure safe return to the UK and is hoping the British embassy can visit the couple in prison, bringing essentials such as vitamins and changes of clothes. Bennett urges the embassy to help end the hunger strike for their health, though he acknowledges the couple’s sense that they can only control their bodies as a means of protest.
"We just want them home," Bennett told the BBC, expressing the family's urgent desire for the couple’s safe return.
