Evin Prison in Tehran where British couple Craig and Lindsay are beginning a 10 year sentence after being convicted on spying charges. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE
Two Britons detained in Iran while on a round-the-world motorcycle trip have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a revolutionary court for “spying,” their family said Thursday.
Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who were convicted and sentenced in a trial at which they were not permitted to present a defense, have been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since they were arrested in January 2025.
The British government reacted with anger Thursday at what it said was an “appalling” ruling, vowing to secure their release.
“This sentence is completely appalling and totally unjustifiable. We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the U.K. and reunited with their family,” said Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families,” she added.
Joe Bennett, the couple’s son, said the Iranian authorities have never produced a shred of evidence to support their allegations the couple were spies and urged the British government to “act decisively and use every available avenue” to get them out.
“My parents have now been sentenced to 10 years following a trial that lasted just three hours and in which they were not allowed to present a defense. They have consistently denied the allegations. We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage,” Bennett said.
“We were previously told that once sentencing occurred, further action would follow. We now hope the U.K. government will act decisively and use every available avenue to secure their release,” he added.
In a phone call from prison prior to the sentencing, Craig Foreman told ITV News that he and his wife were “hostages.”
“I don’t understand why we have been here for 13 months, being held hostage in 2026. In what day and age does this [happen?] When does this end?”
Foreman said they had not been treated well, describing being held in filthy and overcrowded conditions since being arrested four days after arriving in the country.
He said he and his wife had been held separately and that he spent 57 days in solitary confinement.
In a separate call, Lindsay detailed game-playing by the Iranian authorities — dangling the prospect of release or that she would be allowed to see Craig — that she said amounted to “psychological torture.”
However, she said she appreciated that the Iranians she was imprisoned with had it much worse.
“I’m surrounded by people who are in worse situations who have to live this their entire life, so in some way I feel lucky that I’ve had the life I have until this point — and hopefully one day for me it will end,” said Lindsay.
The couple’s trip of a lifetime on two wheels came to a sudden halt after entering Iran from Armenia on Dec. 30, 2024, on an itinerary approved by Iranian authorities that would see them traverse the country over five days before exiting into Pakistan.
Britain explicitly tells its citizens and permanent residents not to travel to Iran — period — and that they risk being targeted specifically due to their U.K. links.
At least 15 among dozens of people detained by Iran in recent years, mostly for alleged spying and national security offenses, were Britons, held dual nationality or were U.K. residents.
Detainees are routinely used as bargaining chips that Iran uses to advance its national interests, according to human rights groups.
In 2022, Britain returned $875 million from an arms deal that it never delivered on, dating back to before the 1978 revolution in Iran to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori.
Dual-national Zaghari-Rattcliffe was arrested at the airport in 2016 as she was about to board a flight home to London after visiting with her parents in Tehran and accused of spying.
The Foremans said they had traveled to Iran as part of a “global initiative to focus on the good” in the world and had done so with their eyes open to the risks.
Historic February moments through the years
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
