British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman were detained during their dream holiday in Iran last year – and have now been sentenced to 10 years in prison for “espionage”, charges they strongly deny
Craig and Lindsay Foreman’s children are campaigning for their release from Iranian prison
It was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime, but now Lindsay and Craig Foreman are facing a 10-year sentence in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The British couple planned to ride a motorcycle around the world but were arrested by Iranian authorities early last year.
For months, their four children – Lindsay’s sons, Joe and Toby, along with Craig’s daughter, Chelsea, and son, Kieran – were trapped in a hellish confinement, having no contact and having no idea what was happening to their parents. Eventually, the couple were allowed to make phone calls to their loved ones, and although their children finally had proof that their parents were alive, the nightmare continued.
Lindsay and Craig, both 53, have been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being detained for more than 12 months on spying charges – which they strongly deny. The sentence comes as tensions between the US and Iran run high – and President Trump has been barred by Prime Minister Keir Starmer from using UK bases to launch an attack against the Islamic republic.
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Read more: Trump takes a U-turn on Chagos because Britain did not agree that it will launch attacks on Iran from Britain. Read more: Israel is on high alert regarding America-Iran, due to which the possibility of conflict in the country has increased.
An already terrifying moment for the couple and their family is heightened, with geopolitical tensions rising and an “armada” of US military forces ready to attack Iran. The Mirror has spoken to psychologist Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, former hostages and their families and an international relations expert to find out what was really going on during this heartbreaking moment for Lindsay and Craig.
Joe told the Mirror that the family were completely shocked by the news that Lindsay and Craig have been sentenced to ten years in prison, but it has only hardened their resolve to continue campaigning for the couple’s release and that the family will never be broken. “The prospect of ten years in prison strikes deep within,” Joe explains. “There’s shock. There’s anger. There’s sadness. But there’s also determination.”
Both are being kept in different parts of the infamous jail (Image: PA)
“We’ve been public since July and have already faced waves of uncertainty. It doesn’t break us, but it does sharpen our focus.”
Former hostage Anousheh Ashoori, who was held by the Iranian regime on false charges for four years and seven months – and was released with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in 2022 – recalls the moment she was sentenced in the Mirror. In 2019 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the regime after being accused of spying for Israel and acquiring wealth through illegitimate means. He describes the horrific sentence handed down to the Mirror: “The moment of sentencing is surreal and crushing, when a few words suddenly redefine your future and devastate your family.”
Nazanin’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, who campaigned tirelessly for her release while she was held hostage, told the Mirror that Lindsay and Craig’s “sentence brought back a lot of memories.” He explains that for his family this was a moment when the reality of being kept apart sunk in, and he described it as a punishment not just for the hostage but for the entire family.
Anousheh was released along with Nazneen in 2022 (Image: AP)
“This was one of the hardest days for our family,” says Richard, who has been advising Lindsay and Craig’s family. “There was a real numbness, because all those years moving forward suddenly seemed very real. They would be thinking about all the birthdays and weddings they were going to miss and also about the funeral on time. Today it would feel like a life sentence for the whole family and very unfair. Prison would cast a long shadow over their whole lives.”
He added that he would advise the couple’s four children that “over the next few days, they can just take it one day at a time.
“This kind of experience is very isolating. So it’s worth remembering that they are not alone and being reminded that there are lots of people who care, no matter how much it may feel like the opposite behind those grey walls.”
Joe tells the Mirror how the family is finding a way out of this nightmare: “We face this by staying united and staying disciplined. By remembering that they are still here, still strong, and still worthy of tireless advocacy.”
He further said that he “has had limited communication” with the couple since the sentencing. “We’ve managed to speak briefly since he was sentenced and that brought up a whole range of emotions, but the most prominent was determination. The sentence is the next step in the fight for justice.”
From inside the notorious Evin prison, Lindsay told the BBC before his sentencing that imprisonment had taken a toll on his physical health, but it was also “an endurance test for the mind”.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested after entering Iran on a motorcycle tour (Image: PA)
Who is very concerned about how the couple is living and what the state of their physical health is. “His health is a constant concern. Prison conditions are difficult at the best of times, and this is not the best of times. Craig was in significant pain in his tooth for several months. He has received very basic treatment now, but it has been delayed longer than ever. More broadly, he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically strong, but the uncertainty is taking its toll.”
The couple had previously gone on a hunger strike to ensure regular communication and better conditions with their family, but Joe never wants to have to take such an extreme step again. “I would never want that for them,” he says. “They have shown in the past that they are willing to subject themselves to this when they feel they have no voice. But a hunger strike is a last resort, and it takes an enormous physical and emotional toll.”
Lindsay is currently being held in the women’s wing of the notorious prison, while Craig is being held with political prisoners. As far as Joe knows, this is where they will live, but he has previously described conditions in the Mirror as unhealthy and violent – with rats in the cells and fights breaking out regularly.
Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper described the 10-year sentence as “completely inappropriate” and said, “We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we can safely return Craig and Lindsay Foreman to the UK and be reunited with their family.”
Joe welcomes Cooper’s intervention but adds, “Also, this case now carries a ten-year sentence. So naturally we ask whether earlier, stronger action might have changed the trajectory.
“Our position has always been constructive. We work with the government, not against it. But families are allowed to expect immediate readiness when lives are at stake.”
Their son Joe (right) said the prison where his parents are held is ‘overcrowded’ due to anti-regime protests (Image: Phil Harris)
There was unrest in Iran earlier this year, which was violently quelled by the regime. Iranian figures in late January claimed more than 3,100 people were killed, but other estimates were as high as 36,500. Last year saw attacks against Iran by Israel and the US, as both countries targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities.
With talks on Iran’s nuclear programme stalled, the US has increased its military strength enough to “sustain a prolonged strike” against Iran if no diplomatic solution is reached. Professor Anthony Glees, an international relations expert at the University of Buckingham, told the Mirror it was “the worst possible news for Foreman” and “a moment of extraordinary danger”.
Professor Gleizes explains that it is difficult for the public to imagine the “brutal horror” of a 10-year sentence in Evin prison, adding that it was “physical torture” as well as “mental” for the couple and their family – even before adding to the rising tensions in the region. The international relations expert explains, “Once the bombing begins, Britain loses its grip and the story of Foreman’s ordeal spins out of control. This cannot be acceptable to any government that claims to believe in human rights.”
The geopolitical expert explains that in light of “the possibility of a US attack on Iran”, it becomes “imperative” for the UK government to bring Lindsay and Craig home “immediately”.
Richard Ratcliffe explained to the Mirror that the hostage-taking was a matter of “political theatre” and “sending signals,” pointing out that “why it is happening now” is always an important question.
He adds, “From the outside, the new sentence suddenly sounds like a human shield strategy by Iran in response to the military build-up and a warning to Britain not to sacrifice its own citizens. I wish the government had not let them stay there for so long.”
Ratcliffe adds, “This sentence is a signal that Britain needs to take action, and Iran wants them to get involved. Foreman is also faced with a threat.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter and husband Richard
“We have always tried to remind ourselves that hostage cases are not real cases but political theatre. But the pain is real, and now the punishment is also real. Legally the UK is ultimately required to summon the Iranian ambassador and declare his detention as arbitrary detention and hostage-taking, which for some reason the UK has resisted doing so far.
“While the Foreign Secretary’s new statement is robust, it remains legally vague, and it seems primarily intended for domestic use rather than establishing clear boundaries with Iran.”
But for Lindsay and Craig’s family, the public desperately needs to be reminded that the couple are normal people who are currently suffering extremely – and that they should never be cards to play in the diplomatic game. Joe believes, “It is impossible to ignore the broader context.” “What I will say is this: my mother and Craig are normal people. They are not politicians. They are not negotiators. They should never have been caught in the middle of geopolitical tensions.”
Professor Gleize has called the espionage allegations against the pair “absurd nonsense,”, pointing out that “spies do not travel around the world on motorcycles using their own names and with visas and other formal documents in their pockets.”
He also points out that “The Ayatollahs have a long history of arresting people with non-Iranian passports, or dual citizenship, and using them to blackmail Western governments. Many expected Iran to try to trade the completely innocent Foreman against three Iranian agents arrested in May 2025 who are still awaiting trial.”
Richard Ratcliffe – who is very familiar with what is happening – tells the Mirror that he believes “Government inaction over the last year has contributed to this moment. I think Labour’s failure to set up a hostage envoy and keep its promises about the right to consular protection has allowed the Foreign Office to revert to old patterns of devolution and deprioritization. Today, Foreman faced the consequences of his refusal to address the hostages in Iran. Is.”
Richard admits that seeing Foreman pass away like this “is inspiring to us,” adding that “it’s really disappointing that the government has decided not to learn the lessons from Nazanin’s case.”
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