Family of Brits jailed in Iran take campaign to US

The son of a British woman and her partner imprisoned in Iran has said he is bringing his campaign for their freedom to Washington.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were detained by Iranian authorities in January 2025 while travelling the world.

The East Sussex couple were sentenced to ten years behind bars on 17 February in what the family called a "sham trial" where they were not allowed any defence.

War has since broken out between Iran and the US and Israel, which Lindsay's son Joe Bennett said has pushed the pair's situation in prison to a "terrifying breaking point".

Conditions are "deteriorating rapidly", said the family.

"Access to clean water is limited, staffing levels are falling, and prisoners fear shortages of basic food supplies," they continued.

The family said that on 28 February - when the US and Israel began striking Iran - a bomb exploded so close to the ward of Tehran's Evin Prison where Craig is being held that plaster was sent "raining down" on the inmates.

Lindsay, who is also in the facility and was on the phone to her son at the time, described a scene of "mass hysteria" as women dived under their bunk beds for cover, they added.

The family said the legal process inside Iran has effectively collapsed amid the conflict, with the courts reportedly targeted in recent airstrikes.

Iran's government is widely believed to be using the Foremans, who were detained on espionage charges, as bargaining chips with the West.

"My parents are not spies," said Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent. "They are innocent tourists who have been taken hostage."

Bennett added that the couple "appear" to have been abandoned by the UK government.

He said officials have still not formally recognised Lindsay and Craig as being held arbitrarily, while the prime minister and foreign secretary have not responded to a petition he delivered to Downing Street earlier this year.

"There are British citizens in real and immediate danger," Bennett continued.

• Why did US and Israel attack Iran and how long could the war last?

The Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office has previously said it continues to raise the couple's case directly with the Iranian authorities.

"We continue to provide Craig and Lindsay with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members," a spokesperson has said.

Bennett is set to address the United States Capitol on 12 March at the Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention.

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