British couple jailed in Iran for 10 years for 'espionage' lose appeal against sentences, distraught family says

Published: 17:04, 2 June 2026 | Updated: 17:11, 2 June 2026 A British couple jailed in Iran on charges of espionage have lost an appeal against their decade-long sentences, sparking their family to call out the UK Government over claims it is 'passively managing' their case.  Craig and Lindsay Foreman, from East Sussex, were handed a 10-year sentence each in February in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison after being convicted of spying, which they both deny.  The family have been ruthlessly campaigning for the couple's release, however were hit by a significant blow this week after the Foreman's appeal was rejected - a decision that comes after the couple was barred from their own appeal hearing.  Lindsay's son Joe called out the Government over claims the couple are 'disappearing' into a 'fundamentally unjust' system.  He told the Daily Mail: 'For months, this case has been handled through a process that has produced no meaningful process and very little transparency.  'My concern now is that we are stuck in a cycle of passive management rather than active resolution. The dial needs to shift from simply monitoring the situation to applying real diplomatic urgency and pressure.' The news comes amid the couple's joint hunger strike, with Craig on day 25 and Lindsay on day 16, prompted after, Joe said, 'they ran out of ways to make their own Government act'. This has taken an additional toll on the couple's mental strength. Joe, from Folkestone, Kent, described his mother as 'defiant' but is 'understandably tested'.  Lindsay and Craig Foreman (pictured), both 52, were arrested in Kerman, southern Iran, on January 3, as they embarked on a motorcycle trip around the world to Australia Joe Bennett (pictured), Lindsay's son, has been campaigning for their freedom for more than a year  He continued: 'She has shown extraordinary resilience throughout this ordeal, but there is only so much any human being can endure after more than 500 days imprisoned in a foreign country under these conditions.' These are conditions which include rat-infested and overcrowded cells, as well as US-Israeli strikes and mental games, including the last-minute pulling of their entitled spousal visits within the prison. The family understand 'basic communication' between the pair is now 'heavily restricted', as they are only allowed to 'speak very briefly' and in a 'highly limited and controlled way'. Lindsay, a business coach, and Craig, a carpenter, were arrested on January 3 in Kerman, southern Iran, last year while passing through the country on a round-the-world motorcycle trip, ending in Australia. The couple set off from the UK in November 2024, having taken up motorcycling a few years earlier in memory of Lindsay's brother, Ashley, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1993. Despite having Iranian visas, a guide and an approved itinerary, the Foreman's were sentenced and imprisoned on claims they were spying for the UK and Israel. Both the couple's lawyers and the UK Government have argued their case lacks legal basis, while they were also prevented from defending themselves at a court hearing in October - leaving them to feel like they are being used as diplomatic leverage rather than being rightly convicted criminals. The family have since been left further in the dark, Joe said, after it is not known whether his mother and step-dad 'received a proper account of what was argued on their behalf' at the appeal. The couple (pictured), from East Sussex, had intended to travel from Armenia to Pakistan via Iran when they were intercepted by authorities and later charged with espionage Your browser does not support iframes. Joe, whose communication with the couple was cut by Iranian authorities, added: 'We know they had been asked to sign documents...documents they could not read, and they refused, but we don't know the details of when, or what they were. 'The case has now passed to the Supreme Court, but we don't understand the process, the timeline, or what, if anything, will be submitted in their name.'  Joe believes the appeal failed due to the 'process' which 'offered little realistic prospect of justice', with the lack of a 'credible or transparent legal process'.  He continued: 'They were convicted in what we regard as a sham trial, denied the ability to properly defend themselves, and the appeal appears to have followed the same pattern.  'The fact the case has now escalated to Iran's Supreme Court underlines how unresolved and uncertain the situation still is.' Joe met with officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Monday but left without 'clarity on what pressure is being applied to Tehran'.  He added: 'The family has repeatedly been left trying to piece together developments through fragmented information in a system that has never operated fairly or openly.'  The FCDO warns all British and British-Iranian nationals not to travel to Iran because of a 'significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention'.  Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper previously called the couple's 10-year sentences 'completely appalling and totally unjustifiable'. The couple are being held in separate wings of the prison where the British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained over allegations she was plotting to topple the Iranian Government.  The family claimed they were discouraged by the Government to reach out to the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe last year, who said the couple would be put in danger and rather advised 'quiet diplomacy'. 'We were actively warned against reaching out to ex-detainees of Iran and their families, including the likes of Richard Ratcliffe, because they said it would put my mum and Craig at risk,' Joe previously told the Mail. He continued: 'That was the genuine advice they gave us. And we were like, why would you not want to offer that as a support, rather than shutting it down and trying to isolate? Surely you would want the support of other families to navigate something very niche and difficult.' British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her husband Richard Ratcliffe, was detained in Iran over allegations she was plotting to topple the Iranian Government The family initially followed the State's advice, but eventually contacted Richard Ratcliffe, who is the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, last June after the couple was moved to Evin Prison. And mere days after Israel struck the prison, killing at least 71 people, the Government 'lost' the couple. 'Evin Prison was being bombed and the Foreign Office can't tell us where they are. I'm like, "Where the hell are my parents?"', Joe said. The family lost contact and it was only after a month that they were told by the British Embassy in Iran that their whereabouts were unknown. 'The embassy essentially lost my parents. That was the last straw', he added. The family, who have started a Change petition, subsequently went against the Government's advice and reached out to ex-detainees. Joe said: 'Unfortunately history suggests the Foreign Office aren't very good at getting innocent people out of this position. 'You would have thought they had learned their lesson but I'm yet to see it.' Iranian-British national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in Iran for nearly six years after she was accused of trying to overthrow the Iranian regime. Yet she has been widely regarded as having been used as a pawn for diplomatic leverage. Her husband Richard relentlessly campaigned for her release, which Joe believes made him an 'unpopular man' with the Foreign Office. This included two hunger strikes to have his wife freed from Iran, taking place at the steps of Number 10 Downing Street to deliver a 70,000-signature petition calling on the Government to do more. The family will 'continue the campaign', which includes a GoFundMe, Joe said.  He continued: 'We continue raising public and political pressure, engaging internationally, and doing everything possible to keep Craig and Lindsay's case firmly on the agenda.  'We cannot allow them to simply become forgotten.' The FCDO said: 'We are disappointed by the appeal decision and will continue working to ensure that Craig and Lindsay are returned safely to the UK. 'Since their arrest last year, Britain's Ambassador to Tehran, diplomats and officials in London have been working to provide consular assistance. This includes the ambassador visiting them in prison and facilitating calls with their family back in the UK. 'Minister Falconer last met the family on May 18 and the Foreign Secretary on March 17. Both set out to them personally how unjustified and appalling we consider Lindsay and Craig's incarceration to be, and the action that the UK Government is taking to try and secure their release.' 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