The son of a British woman detained alongside her husband in Iran has urged the UK government to do more to help them escape the “dire” conditions they are being held in.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were taken into custody in Kerman in January during a motorcycle tour around the world and later charged with espionage, which they deny.
They were both moved to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in October, where they will likely remain over Christmas.
Lindsay’s son Joe Bennett is continuing his campaign to get them released, urging the UK government to “come out and defend them”.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Bennett said he was now in contact with his mother almost daily, after she and Craig, his stepfather, went on a hunger strike last month.
Before that, he said, he’d only been able to speak with her three times in just under 11 months.
“They’ve lost a lot of weight because there isn’t enough nourishment. They’re eating rice and gristle every day. They can’t really exercise. It’s overcrowded and cramped,” he told Phillips.
He said Lindsay was also suffering with a bad skin condition, because of a lack of ventilation in the jail.
“It is extremely dirty. She’s cooking, the kitchen’s filled with rats. It is dire, to be honest with you, for them both,” he said.
Asked about how their absence will feel for his family over the festive period, Mr Bennett said the pair were both integral to “keeping the Christmas spirit alive” and that “we’ve lost that a lot”.
He added he feels “a sense of guilt” while his mother is “stuck in a cell”, unable to celebrate.
Frustrations with UK government
Mr Bennett said he was “frustrated” by the government’s handling of the incident, adding: “There is this policy, it seems, to sit and wait and allow this judicial process which is, in my eyes, a complete circus, to play out.
“We were told almost two months ago, when they last were in court, that a sentence would be passed in a couple of weeks. We’re now two months down the line and nothing has happened.
“I keep saying that we need to be being more accountable as a government and speaking out.
“They’re not being accused of something like shoplifting, or a petty crime, they are being accused of espionage. This is a state level charge of crime, and they need to be backing their UK citizens.
“That’s what I believe needs to be done – taking a stand and saying: ‘This isn’t right, we do not agree with it, and we want our citizens home as soon as possible.'”
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The Foreign Office warns all British and British-Iranian nationals against all travel to Iran because of “significant risk of arrest, questioning, or detention”.
In a statement in October, a spokesman for the FCDO said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran.
“We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
“The FCDO are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”
