A British man jailed in Iran on espionage charges, which his family and officials call baseless, has seen his decade-long prison sentence extended by a further two years. Craig Foreman, 52, and his wife Lindsay, 53, are currently on a two-month hunger strike, with their health reportedly deteriorating as their son expresses desperate worry, the family announced Wednesday.
The couple was arrested in January 2025 during a motorcycle trip from Europe to Asia. In February 2025, just 10 days before the U.S. and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, they were charged with espionage and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The judge presiding over their case is reportedly under sanctions from the U.S., U.K., and European Union for conducting what are described as “show trials.”
Having been imprisoned for over 18 months, the Foremans have spent most of this time in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Lindsay's son and family spokesperson, Joe Bennett, stated Wednesday that they received “extremely concerning reports” that his stepfather Craig's sentence was increased for speaking to the media.
Bennett detailed the circumstances of the extended sentence, saying, “We understand he was told he was being taken to see his lawyer but was instead brought before a judge and informed of the additional sentence.” He added that Craig was denied a lawyer, a translator, and the opportunity to defend himself despite requests. Expressing the family's shock, Bennett remarked, “We didn't think we could be any more shocked at their appalling treatment, but in this case we are absolutely flabbergasted.”
A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office confirmed on Wednesday that the government was “urgently following up with the Iranian authorities about the reported increased sentence.”
The couple's current hunger strike began on May 9, with Craig starting and Lindsay joining him on May 18. This marks their second such protest, following a previous hunger strike in November 2025. According to the family's statement, both have lost significant weight, and their health continues to decline. A letter from loved ones urging them to end their protest and resume eating has been blocked from reaching them in prison.
Joe Bennett described the emotional toll of the situation, saying, “Some days you wake up feeling hopeful. Other days you receive news like Craig's received a two-year sentence, and it feels like the floor disappears beneath you again.” He added, “My life has become a cycle of speaking to the government, to lawyers, journalists, MPs, and at the same time, I'm a son who's desperately worried about his mum and Craig.” Bennett highlighted the constant anxiety, stating, “The hardest part of it all is the uncertainty. Every phone call makes you wonder if it's going to be good news or bad news, and you never really know how to switch off.”
After initially being denied calls for the first seven months of their sentences, the Foremans were later allowed to contact their family. However, since May, these calls have again been cut off. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that the couple is also being denied adequate medical care. HRANA states that Craig has lost 35 pounds, while Lindsay, who is experiencing dizzy spells and body tremors, has lost 30 pounds.
The Foremans have vehemently denied the Iranian authorities' spying allegations. In April, British lawmaker Hamish Falconer, who also serves as an under-secretary in the Foreign Office, publicly stated that the Foremans were “innocent tourists.”
Bennett shared the family's ongoing fears amidst the Iran war, concerned that Craig and Lindsay could be inadvertently affected by U.S. or Israeli strikes on the country. “When military action escalates, you know, we don't know how my mum and Craig are,” he said. This concern was heightened in June 2025 when Israeli forces bombed Evin prison, where the Foremans were due to be moved. The family only learned a month later that they had not yet been transferred. They were eventually both moved to Evin in October 2025. Bennett described the constant worry: “Every headline that you see brings another wave of us asking ourselves, 'Are they safe?'”
In June, two United Nations experts, special rapporteurs Mai Sato and Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, called on Iran to release the Foremans, having written to Iranian authorities in April. They stated, “Lindsay and Craig Foreman should not be in prison. They appear to have been wrongfully detained, prosecuted on highly questionable grounds, and sentenced after proceedings that failed to meet basic fair trial guarantees.”
The British government, which has advised against all travel to Iran since May 2022, previously described the original decade-long sentence as “completely appalling and totally unjustifiable.”
The family welcomed a recent announcement that the U.K. government had appointed its first envoy to support British nationals detained in complex cases overseas. They are advocating for the U.K. to formally recognize the couple's case as arbitrary detention. When asked what it would take to bring them home, Bennett emphasized the need for “courage” and “political will.” He cited the releases of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in 2022 as examples, stating, “If the British government makes these cases a genuine priority, people do come home.” He concluded, “Every case is different, but history shows that persistence, international cooperation and determined engagement, they all matter. We are asking, with everything we have, for them to be shown mercy and allowed to come home.”
