Family of East Sussex couple jailed in Iran meet with Foreign Secretary
It comes almost a week after the Prime Minister called their case 'unjustified and apalling'.
Family of an East Sussex couple jailed in Iran are hoping the Foreign Secretary will help them find out more about what's being done to free them.
Loved ones of Lindsay and Craig Foreman are meeting with Ed Milliband today, almost a week after the Prime Minister called their case 'unjustified and apalling'.
The pair have been imprisoned for more than 650 days after being accused of spying while passing through the country in an around-the-world motorbike trip.
Their son, Joe Bennett, is hoping the meeting will bring 'answers': "We need clarification on why they refuse to call it arbitary detention, when it so clearly is.
"We have conversations behind closed doors and we're told everybody knows that they're hostages and arbitarily detained - there's a difference between knowing it and saying it."
Joe's MP Tony Vaughn brought up their situation in last week's Prime Minsiter's Questions, and told Greatest Hits Radio that "things like diplomatic protection are measures that can be taken, to escalate the case and make it a more urgent case that Iran has to respond to".
Meanwhile, the family have also delivered a letter to the Foreign Office, sharing the impact of their detention.
An FCDO spokesperson said:
"Craig and Lindsay’s health and welfare is a top priority.
"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.
"The family of Craig and Lindsay have met with Minister for the Middle East Stephen Doughty alongside the UK’s Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions Alistair Burt.
Minister Doughty has 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.”