British couple held in Iran end hunger strikes, their family says

Family and supporters of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple detained in Iran, march in London on January 3, 2026, to raise national awareness of the couple's ongoing detention and the need for urgent intervention. (Brook Mitchell / AFP)
Family and supporters of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple detained in Iran, march in London on January 3, 2026, to raise national awareness of the couple's ongoing detention and the need for urgent intervention. (Brook Mitchell / AFP)

A British couple detained in Iran accused of spying have ended their latest monthslong hunger strikes protesting their treatment in prison, their family says.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their early 50s, were seized in January 2025 as they passed through central Iran while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.

They were each sentenced in February this year to a decade in prison on espionage charges that they deny, with two years subsequently added to Craig Foreman’s term for talking to the media, his stepson said in July.

They launched their latest hunger strikes in May, protesting the “serious physical toll” their detentions were taking, with Craig Foreman lasting 93 days and his wife 84 days, according to their relatives.

The couple have consistently complained about overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at Evin Prison, a large, heavily fortified complex in northern Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals.

“After almost three months of protest, Lindsay and Craig chose to end their hunger strikes,” the family says in a statement, noting the pair ended the action by turning the final five days into a “fast for good.”

Lindsay Foreman’s son Joe Bennett says that “the immediate focus remains Lindsay and Craig’s health, their welfare and securing their release after more than 18 months in detention.”

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