Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17
UN Experts Urge Iran to Free British Couple Jailed 10 Years as Hunger Strike Hits 30 Days
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17

UN Experts Urge Iran to Free British Couple Jailed 10 Years as Hunger Strike Hits 30 Days

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 17

Summary

  • UN special rapporteurs Alice Edwards and Mai Sato called for Iran to release Lindsay and Craig Foreman, saying the British couple were wrongly detained and convicted after proceedings that breached basic fair-trial standards.
  • 30 days without food has turned the couple's hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison into a medical emergency, the experts said, after phone contact with their family was cut off last month.
  • The Foremans, from East Sussex, were detained in January 2025 while crossing Iran on a round-the-world motorcycle trip and deny the spying charges that brought 10-year sentences.
  • Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman's son, said they were barred from attending their own appeal hearing and that the case has now gone to Iran's Supreme Court, though the family still lacks a clear timeline.
  • The UN experts said the pair may be held for political leverage and urged Britain to use all diplomatic means; the Foreign Office said it would keep working to bring them home safely.

Insights

As a US-Iran peace deal looms, are two British tourists the final pawns in Iran's long game of hostage diplomacy?
On hunger strike in a war-damaged prison, can a British couple survive Iran's systematic repression and dire humanitarian crisis?
Accused of spying on a motorcycle trip, what does the case against the Foremans reveal about Iran's opaque judicial system?