Lindsay and Craig Foreman have appeared in court in Tehran with a ‘state-appointed lawyer they only just met’ and his family said they are now ‘deeply concerned’
The family of a British couple detained in Iran have requested an urgent meeting with the Foreign Secretary after the pair were “suddenly whisked” to a courtroom in the country’s capital.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were taken into custody in January during a motorcycle tour around the world and were later charged with espionage. The couple, of East Sussex, deny the allegations.
Their son, Joe Bennett, has said the family were informed that the pair appeared in court in Tehran on Wednesday with a “state-appointed lawyer they only just met”, adding: “We cannot see how (this) could be considered to be a fair trial.” Mr Bennett’s family has said they are “deeply concerned” that they had no prior knowledge of the hearing being organised or carried out.
READ MORE: Family of Brit tourists locked up in Iran for ‘espionage’ all ‘living in solitary confinement’
Through their adviser Radd Seiger, the family have now requested a meeting with David Lammy to ensure efforts are made to secure the couple’s return to the UK as urgently as possible. Mr Bennett, of Folkestone, Kent, has said the latest court update has raised the family’s concerns about their wellbeing.
He said: “The ambassador was due to visit Craig yesterday but that did not happen. We are not sure if the ambassador went and Craig was not there because he was whisked away to court. This is deeply worrying, because it has been well over three-and-a-half months since Craig was last seen.
“At that time, he had already lost weight. Now, with no funds and no access to food beyond the bare minimum, I can only guess at how he must be.” The family said it was their understanding that Lindsay was seen by ambassador Hugo Shorter on Wednesday and “provided with a comfort pack of essential supplies.”
Addressing the court hearing itself, Mr Bennett said the lack of transparency in the case “only deepens our concern.” He continued: “We cannot see how being suddenly whisked into a courtroom with no warning, with a state-appointed lawyer they only just met, could be considered to be a fair trial.
“At least they saw each other, which must be some relief. Craig has now been in Evin Prison for 25 days without access to funds. In Iran’s prison system, detainees must rely on money credited to their accounts to buy food, clean water, and hygiene products.
“The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has so far been unable to transfer money into Craig’s account, leaving him without the essentials needed to survive. The lack of transparency only deepens our concern.”
The FCDO warns all British and British-Iranian nationals not to travel to Iran due to a “significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention”. Since Mr and Mrs Foreman were arrested, their frantic four children have been tirelessly campaigning for their “generous and fun” parents’ release, and are determined to do everything they can to bring the couple home.
Craig’s son Kieran has described the family’s situation to the Mirror as feeling “like you are falling down a pit and you can’t get up” – as they struggle with “limited” information about their mum and dad. “We are limited on the information we are given on the condition and we were told they are in a rather small cell together. We think they had a bed, but before they were sleeping on the floor and apart,” Joe and Kieran have said.
“They are trying to keep fit by running in a figure of 8 around that room, but we know that at one time Mum (Lindsay) had problems with her back and Dad (Craig) also wasn’t walking right.” Meanwhile, campaigner Richard Ratcliffe, who worked for years to secure the released of his wife, innocent hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran, likened the “isolating” experience of his wife’s imprisonent on trumped-up charges, as being “like the whole family goes into solitary confinement.”
Nazanin was falsely accused of espionage, propaganda, and plotting to topple the Iranian regime – and was imprisoned between 2016 and 2022 in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. Richard said: “It is such an isolating and terrifying experience at the beginning. It is like the whole family goes into solitary confinement,” adding that when he advised the family: “The main thing I told them when we first met was that they needed to get it confirmed where they were, and that [Lindsay and Craig] were still alive.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that two British nationals have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities. We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”