Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent nearly 150 days in prison held on unspecified spying charges, with Iran accusing them of “posing as tourists” to gather intelligence
The family of a British husband and wife held captive in Iran over spying charges have written desperate letters to her but received no response.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were taken into custody while motorbiking across the country after being warned by the Foreign Office and their family not to visit because of the dangers posed by the rogue state.
The couple, in their 50s, were held in January on unspecified spying charges, with Iran accusing them of “posing as tourists” to gather intelligence.
Now, as they have spent nearly 150 days in prison, it has emerged the Foreign Office has been supporting Craig, a carpenter and Dr Foreman, a life coach.
Lindsay’s son Toby spoke for the first time about the heartache the family faced. He said Foreign Office officials visited his mother on Tuesday.
He told the Mirror: “There was a visit yesterday day. Someone from the Foreign Office, checking if she’s okay. We have been able to pass on a message to the Foreign Office, everyone wrote a letter to give them to them, but we don’t know what they received.
“We just don’t want to make things worse. We’re waiting to see if anything big happens over the next few months.”
The 19-year-old university student said the news that his mother had been detained over alleged espionage offences came as a “real shock”.
He said: “Everyone in the family is dealing with it in different ways. I had never heard about English people being detained out there.
“I thought there was more of a security concern with them taking relatively expensive bikes out there. “We were not expecting for them to get detained. She has studied a lot of psychology so she’s probably in a better place mentality than other people.”
Craig and Lindsay crossed into Iran from Armenia on December 30 and planned to leave by January 4 on their way to Australia. After entering the country they stayed in Tabriz, Tehran and Isfahan. But they never reached their next hotel in Kerman.
In February Craig and Lindsay were accused of entering Iran “posing as tourists” conducting research before their arrest near the city of Kerman.
The couple, both aged 52, were also accused of “gathering information from several provinces” and said to be “cooperating with covert institutions linked to the intelligence services of hostile and Western countries”.
Toby praised the Foreign Office for their support so far. He said: “The Foreign Office has been pretty helpful – I have nothing bad to say about them.”
The Foremans had been documenting their time spent in Iran on social media before their arrest. One clip, captioned “We are in Iran”, showed Lindsay in the front seat of a car while her husband waves behind her at the camera. A separate video shows her sat eating at a traditional Iranian restaurant.
Lindsay, who has a PhD in psychology, was preparing a research project which she was due to present in Brisbane, Australia, at the conclusion of the trip. She was asking people at points along their trip what it means to be human and how you can live a good life.
Before entering Iran, she posted online that the couple were about to “tackle one of the most challenging – and let’s be honest, slightly scary – sections of our journey”.
The couple said they chose to ignore warnings from friends, family and the Foreign Office because they believed “no matter where you are in the world, most people are good, kind humans striving for a meaningful life”.
They added: “Yes, we’re aware of the risks. But we also know the rewards of meeting incredible people, hearing their stories, and seeing the breathtaking landscapes of these regions could far outweigh the fear. From the vast deserts of Iran to the towering peaks of Pakistan, we hope to share the beauty, hospitality, and humanity that often go unnoticed.”
The Foremans previously featured on Channel 4 show A New Life in the Sun, which documented their move from Sussex to a villa in Andalusia, Spain.