Couple's detention in Iran 'crosses red line' – family

The family of a British couple detained in Iran has said their imprisonment has "crossed a clear and dangerous legal red line".

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested by Iranian authorities last January while on a motorcycle trip around the world.

Iran's government accuses the East Sussex couple of espionage, but Brendan O'Hara MP previously said they were being used as "bargaining chips" between states.

The Foreman's legal representatives in Iran formally submitted an application for bail this week.

Both of their Iranian defence lawyers have also written to the court, stating that the pair were innocent and that there was no lawful basis for their continued detention, according to the family.

Legal limits on how long detainees can be held have also been exceeded, they added.

Their son Joe Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent, warned that if the UK government failed to "respond decisively", it could strengthen Iran's pattern of detaining foreign nationals.

"When governments fail to act at moments like this, cases often become harder to resolve," he said.

British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held in Iran for six years until the UK government paid a £400m tank debt.

It comes amid days of deadly protest in Iran against the country's Islamic government.

The Foreman's family said risks to their physical and psychological health were "rising by the day".

"Conditions inside Iranian prisons are deteriorating. Violence, overcrowding and instability are increasing," they said in a statement.

"Both are in unsanitary, scary, volatile environments."

Bennett called on the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to formally recognise that the couple had been arbitrarily detained and apply sustained diplomatic pressure.

"Governments must not look away," he added.

The FCDO previously said it was "deeply concerned" by the situation facing the Foreman's in Iran.

It said it continued to "raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities".

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