Iran sentences British couple to 10 years in prison on espionage claims
Tourists Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their 50s, have been held since January 2025; UK blasts ‘appalling and totally unjustifiable’ sentences
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LONDON — A British couple detained in Iran since January 2025 have been sentenced to 10 years in jail for espionage, their family announced on Thursday, prompting condemnation from the UK government.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their 50s, were arrested while traveling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey, according to relatives, and have consistently denied Tehran’s spying claims.
Their family says the sentences follow a court appearance last October that lasted just three hours and in which they were not allowed to present any defense.
“They have consistently denied the allegations. We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage,” their son Joe Bennett said in a statement revealing the jail terms.
“We are deeply concerned about their welfare and about the lack of transparency in the judicial process.”
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hit out at the sentences, calling them “completely appalling and totally unjustifiable.”
'It's hell on earth'
British couple Lindsay & Craig Foreman, who were detained in Iran whilst on a motorcycling trip, accused of espionage, have been sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Lindsay's son Joe talks to @adilray & Ranvir about the conditions Lindsay and Craig are living in pic.twitter.com/IDGdOe1WcP
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 19, 2026
“We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family,” she said in a statement.
“In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families,” Cooper added.
The couple were first detained as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on the round-the-world motorbike trip.
Tehran has insisted they are spies, with Iran’s judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir last year alleging that the Foremans entered Iran “posing as tourists” and gathered information before their arrest.
Lindsay Foreman is currently being held in the women’s section of Evin Prison in Tehran, while Craig is in its political wing.
The prison has long been criticized by international human rights organizations for its dire conditions and treatment of prisoners.
Their family has raised concerns about conditions, including cramped cells and a lack of food, as well as a lack of legal representation, and urged the British government to secure their freedom.
Bennett has said the couple was “caught in the middle” of geopolitical tensions between Tehran and other Western countries, most notably the United States, as well as “very difficult” UK-Iran relations.
He and other relatives have been campaigning publicly on the case ever since their arrests.
They marked the one-year anniversary of the detentions by handing in a petition to Downing Street signed by tens of thousands of people urging the British government to do more to free them.
The Times of Israel Community.