Pair held in Iran seen by UK officials after 112 days

A British couple who have been detained in Iran for more than 20 months have been seen by UK officials for the first time in 112 days, their family have said.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who were sentenced to 10 years in jail over espionage charges which they deny, have now been visited at Evin Prison after months without consular access.

According to Lindsay's son, Joe Bennett, the couple are now in better spirits, with Craig telling officials he had regained around 1.6 stone (10kg) of the 2.7 stone (17kg) lost following a hunger strike the couple ended in August.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said the couple's "health and welfare is a top priority".

Bennett, from Folkestone, said he had only spoken to his mother for 10 minutes in the last five months.

He said: "Think about your own family and what five months means. The conversations you have without even thinking about them.

"This is my mum. This is our family. And whole chunks of our lives together are simply passing by."

Prison authorities have now agreed that the couple, who are from East Sussex, should be permitted to make a family call once a week, and Bennett is hoping that will be honoured.

He said: "I don't want another assurance that a phone call should happen. I want the phone to ring."

This visit comes two weeks after foreign secretary Ed Miliband reiterated the British government's request for the immediate release of the couple when meeting with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations General Assembly.

The FCDO spokesperson added: "Since their arrest last year, Britain's Ambassador to Tehran, along with diplomats and officials in London, have been working to provide consular assistance. This includes the Ambassador visiting them in prison.

"On 5 August, the family of Craig and Lindsay met with Minister of the Middle East Stephen Doughty alongside the UK's Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions Alistair Burt.

"Doughty set out how unjustified and appalling we consider Lindsay and Craig's incarceration to be, and the action that the UK Government is taking to try and secure their release."

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