UK – BBC, Jan. 12, 2026
The family of a British couple detained in Iran has said their imprisonment has “crossed a clear and dangerous legal red line”.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested by Iranian authorities last January while on a motorcycle trip around the world.
Iran’s government accuses the East Sussex couple of espionage, but Brendan O’Hara MP previously said they were being used as “bargaining chips” between states.
The Foreman’s legal representatives in Iran formally submitted an application for bail this week.
Both of their Iranian defence lawyers have also written to the court, stating that the pair were innocent and that there was no lawful basis for their continued detention, according to the family.
Legal limits on how long detainees can be held have also been exceeded, they added.
‘Governments must not look away’
Their son Joe Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent, warned that if the UK government failed to “respond decisively”, it could strengthen Iran’s pattern of detaining foreign nationals.
“When governments fail to act at moments like this, cases often become harder to resolve,” he said.
British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held in Iran for six years until the UK government paid a £400m tank debt.
