A British couple jailed in Iran on espionage charges have lost an appeal against their 10-year prison sentences, their family said, leaving the next stage of their case uncertain as both remain on hunger strike.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran on a round-the-world motorcycle trip. They deny the spying allegations and were sentenced in February. They are being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.
A member of their UK legal team told the BBC that no reason was given for the appeal’s rejection. Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, said the couple were not allowed to attend the appeal hearing and had been asked to sign documents in Farsi that they could not read, which they refused to do.
Their case has now been passed to the Supreme Court, according to Bennett, but the family does not know what process or timeline may follow.
Family says contact has been cut
The appeal decision comes amid growing concern over the couple’s health and isolation. Their family says they have been unable to call relatives in the UK since they gave an interview to the BBC more than a month ago. The hunger strike began shortly after their communications with the outside world were cut.
Family members have said Craig Foreman, a carpenter, has refused food for 25 days, while Lindsay Foreman, a life coach, briefly resumed eating but is now on day 16 of her hunger strike. Information about their condition has been limited, with relatives receiving fragments of news through the families of cellmates. Craig is said to be taking sugar, milk and water but becoming visibly thinner and weaker.
The Foreign Office said it was disappointed by the appeal decision and would continue working to secure the couple’s safe return to the UK. Its travel advice warns British citizens against travelling to Iran and says that having a British passport or UK connections can be enough for Iranian authorities to detain someone.
The Foreign Office has previously described the couple’s incarceration as “unjustified and appalling.” Their last consular visit was in December, according to the BBC report.
Pressure on the UK government
Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran for nearly six years, told the BBC that the failed appeal was a significant moment and described Iran’s Revolutionary Court as “a theatre of punishment rather than a real court.”
Bennett said he hopes British embassy staff will be able to visit Lindsay and Craig in prison and bring basic items, including vitamins and a change of clothes. He said he wants them to end the hunger strike for their health but understands why they believe it is the only form of agency left to them.
For now, the family is waiting for clarity on the Supreme Court stage, fresh consular access and proof of the couple’s condition inside Evin prison.
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