UK – Sky News, Dec. 21, 2025
Joe Bennett, whose mum and stepfather have been imprisoned for almost a year, says they are undernourished and cooking among rats after being charged with espionage during a motorcycle tour.
The son of a British woman detained alongside her husband in Iran has urged the UK government to do more to help them escape the “dire” conditions they are being held in.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were taken into custody in Kerman in January during a motorcycle tour around the world and later charged with espionage, which they deny.
They were both moved to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in October, where they will likely remain over Christmas.
Lindsay’s son Joe Bennett is continuing his campaign to get them released, urging the UK government to “come out and defend them”.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Bennett said he was now in contact with his mother almost daily, after she and Craig, his stepfather, went on a hunger strike last month.
Before that, he said, he’d only been able to speak with her three times in just under 11 months.
“They’ve lost a lot of weight because there isn’t enough nourishment. They’re eating rice and gristle every day. They can’t really exercise. It’s overcrowded and cramped,” he told Phillips.
He said Lindsay was also suffering with a bad skin condition, because of a lack of ventilation in the jail.
“It is extremely dirty. She’s cooking, the kitchen’s filled with rats. It is dire, to be honest with you, for them both,” he said.
