Couple's 600-day detention should shock people, son says

The detention of a couple held in Iran "should shock people" as their time being held reaches over 600 days, their family says.

Family of Craig and Lindsay Foreman say the wait for the couple to be returned has been "an incredibly long time", after they were detained while on a motorbiking trip in Iran in January 2025.

The couple, from East Sussex, were sentenced to 10 years in jail over espionage charges, which they both deny, and are continuing to be held in Evin prison.

Lindsay's son, Joe Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent, said: "We are constantly knocking on every door available to us."

He added: "It's trying to get the right people to see this and start calling it what it is. We are 20 months down and it feels like we have taken a step back.

"It should shock people that they are still there and there hasn't been any sense of large progress."

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the couple's health and welfare is "a top priority", and that it is "working to provide consular assistance".

Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been held since January 2025, and were sentenced in February 2026. Wednesday, 9 September will mark 614 days since they were detained, Bennett said.

The couple's family spoke to them at the end of August, the first time in three months they had been able to talk, but have not been able to since.

Family and friends will be marking the milestone of their detention by joining a motorbike ride in London, greeting MPs as they arrive for Prime Minister's Questions and delivering a letter to the Iranian embassy.

Bennett said being able to have another call with his mother and Craig would "mean the world", and is one of the things he is calling for in his letter to the Iranian embassy.

Craig and Lindsay's family met Middle East minister Stephen Doughty in August who "set out how unjustified and appalling we consider their incarceration to be, and the action that the UK Government is taking to try and secure their release", an FCDO spokesperson said.

Bennett had previously called for a prisoner exchange in order to ensure their release, and has urged the FCDO and other bodies to help bring the couple back to the UK.

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