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The family of a British couple detained in Iran on espionage charges have said they will keep pushing for their release for years if needed, as they express alarm over ongoing trial proceedings and the pair’s welfare.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52 and who previously split their time between Spain and England, were seized in January in Kerman, southern Iran, while travelling on a round-the-world motorbike trip.
The family have maintained their innocence and say they “will leave no stone unturned” as the government faces pressure from members of parliament to secure their release.
On Saturday the couple are understood to have had a court hearing in Tehran, with a verdict and sentence expected within 10 days. The family had also requested for a UK Foreign Office official to attend the trial proceedings, which was “not allowed”. It remains unclear whether the Foremans were granted an opportunity to present their defence.
“The reason that we want to put the pressure on is not to be annoying but is to get our parents home,” said Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, who is urging the UK government for consular officials to attend court hearings, regular phone calls and welfare visits.
“It’s been nine months. Everything to us is going to feel slow, because it’s nine months too long. They shouldn’t be out there for that long.”
Bennett, 31, said before going public with the campaign for their release the family saw little movement through the Foreign Office’s “quiet diplomacy”. Since then, the couple have had a single phone call the department in August and have had their case raised in parliament, which Bennett takes as indication that things, hopefully, are moving in the right direction.
“If it does go on for years, then we’ll keep pushing for years,” Bennett said on Thursday. “Hopefully it doesn’t and we can resolve it a lot sooner than that, and that’s why as a family and as a campaign team we will endeavour to make sure we leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of getting them back.”
The family is due to meet the foreign secretary in the coming weeks after Yvette Cooper took up the posting in a cabinet shake-up last month. While “over the moon” to have the meeting, Bennett sees it as his responsibility to hold the government accountable and that every option to secure the couple’s release is explored.
The meeting with the foreign secretary comes after the chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on arbitrary detention and hostage affairs, Alicia Kearns, and 35 MPs and house of lords members wrote Cooper urging the government to act.
The APPG, which has also been pushing for the UK to appoint a special envoy for hostage affairs, will hold an upcoming hearing on the couple’s case. Last month, the family met Hugo Shorter, the UK ambassador to Iran, exploring alternatives to get the couple home including potentially turning to the European parliament as the couple are Spanish residents.
“We know that there have been various embassies around the world that have helped in certain situations like this,” said Bennett. The family, and others of prominent British prisoners detained abroad have called for the government to deliver on promises to help secure their release and appoint a special envoy.
The Foreign Office said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
“The FCDO are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”
The Iranian embassy in London has been approached for comment.
