Lindsay Foreman, who was arrested in Iran with her husband Craig, is struggling with her health in prison and is on a drip, her desperate son says
A British woman being held in an Iranian jail on spy charges has been put on a drip as her condition worryingly deteriorates.
Couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, were arrested in Iran on January 3 during a motorbike tour around the world. The British husband and wife set off from Australia and passed through Iran while trying to get from Pakistan to Armenia. The pair, from east Sussex, were charged with espionage and have been in custody since, with their family strongly denying these allegations and fighting for Lindsay and Craig to be freed and returned home.
Lindsay is being held at Qarchak women’s prison near Tehran after being separated from her husband. Her son Joe Bennett, from Folkestone, said his mum’s health is suffering and she was recently put on a drip in her prison cell.
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The conditions at the infamous women’s prison have been slammed by human rights groups, who say the site is a hellhole. Lindsay shares her cell with 70 other women, and sleeps on a metal bed with no mattress.
Joe, speaking to The Times, said: “My mum, we’ve heard most recently, is on a drip. We don’t know why. There are worries medically … they are strong-spirited and they’re coping, but I don’t want that to be normalised.”
Craig is also said to be suffering from a tooth abscess while in the Evin prison – where Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held for nearly six years. Joe added: “Craig’s complaining about his stomach and ongoing illnesses and he’s got an abscess in his tooth so he’s complaining about dental care. It’s harrowing.”
The son has been fighting to have the British couple released and said their family in the UK is set to meet Yvette Cooper on October 16. Craig and Lindsay are due to appear in court today, but their family has no idea why – and they expect to not hear the result of this hearing until at least next week.
Their family said they feel slightly more hopeful following the release of another British couple who were arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Barbie, 76, and Peter Reynolds, 80, had lived in Afghanistan for years and gave their “life in service” but thought they would die in prison.
After months of public lobbying for their release, their desperate family finally secured the elderly couple’s freedom and they were flown out of the country.
Lindsay’s son said despite these being “completely different situations and circumstances” it still gave their family hope as “it shows that it is possible”.