Son of British couple imprisoned in Iran to speak in Washington
Lindsay and Craig Foreman from Sussex are accused of espionage
Last updated 9th Mar 2026
The son of a woman from Sussex imprisoned in Iran with her partner is set to speak in Washington this week to emphasise what he calls a severe lack of support from the UK government.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both aged 53, were sentenced to 10 years in Iran's Evin prison following their arrest in January 2025 during a worldwide motorcycle trip.
They have been accused of espionage, charges they deny.
Joe Bennett, Ms Foreman's son, is scheduled to speak on the 12th March at the US Capitol during the Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention, according to the family's spokesperson.
Conditions in the prison are deteriorating rapidly amid the ongoing conflict, and prisoners fear shortages of basic food supplies, the spokesperson added.
An explosion blew out the windows of the space where Mr Foreman is being held and sent ceiling plaster raining down on the inmates, while Ms Foreman described to her son how women dived under metal bunk beds for cover, the family spokesperson said.
They said: "The legal process has effectively collapsed. The Revolutionary Courts that sentenced the couple have themselves reportedly been targeted in recent airstrikes.
"Lindsay and Craig's state-appointed lawyer has left the country, and the family has no clarity on whether their appeal was even successfully received before court systems shut down."
Mr Bennett said: "The advice we received from the Foreign Office was standard travel advice for tourists, to carry out a risk assessment and take shelter.
"That is hardly illuminating or reassuring when your parents are trapped in a prison in the middle of a war zone."
Mr Bennett will use his address in Washington to highlight what he describes as a profound sense of abandonment by the UK government.
He said: "While the Prime Minister has spoken about the regional conflict in Parliament, he has not once mentioned the names of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, two British citizens sitting in a prison in Tehran with the skies lit up by explosions.
"The Foreign Secretary said she would meet with our family after the sentencing and if circumstances changed. My parents have now been sentenced and they are being held inside a prison in an active conflict zone. I would say that counts as change.
"Neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Secretary have responded to our petition delivered to Downing Street earlier this year. My letters to them have also gone unanswered.
"My parents are not spies. They are innocent tourists who have been taken hostage. Pretending otherwise does not make the problem go away."
The family are calling for the Foreign Secretary formally to designate the case as arbitrary detention.
Mr Bennett said: "The US are actively bringing their hostages' names up in all high-level international discussions, and the UK should be doing this for my parents too."
The Foreign Office has been approached to comment.