British couple lose appeal against Iran espionage sentence, launch hunger strike
British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman, jailed in Iran on espionage charges they deny, have lost an appeal against their 10-year sentence, their family said. The couple, arrested in January 2025 while on a round-the-world motorcycle trip, are now on hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison. Their case has been passed to Iran's Supreme Court, though the family said they do not understand the legal process or timeline.
British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman, jailed in Iran on espionage charges they deny, have lost an appeal against their 10-year sentence and are now on hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison, their family said.
The couple were arrested in January 2025 while passing through Iran on a round-the-world motorcycle trip. They were sentenced in February to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they deny.
No reason was given for the rejection of the appeal, said Haydee Dijkstal, a barrister on their UK legal team. Lindsay's son, Joe Bennett, said they were "not permitted to attend their own appeal hearing". He called it "a serious human rights violation, and it is one more reason why two British citizens, with no other options left, are now starving themselves in protest".
Craig Foreman, a carpenter, has been refusing food for 25 days; Lindsay Foreman, a life coach, is on day 16 of her hunger strike. The couple have been prevented from calling their family in the UK since giving an interview to the BBC more than a month ago. Their last consular visit was in December.
The case has been passed to Iran's Supreme Court, according to Bennett, although the family do not understand the legal process or the timeline of what might happen next. Bennett said his mother and step-father had been asked to sign documents in Farsi which they could not read, and refused.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are disappointed by the appeal decision and will continue working to ensure that Craig and Lindsay are returned safely to the UK."
Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held in Iran for almost six years, said: "The Revolutionary Court is a theatre of punishment rather than a real court." Ratcliffe said he believed the failure of the Foremans' appeal was a significant moment, adding: "So when something like this happens it's a signal from the Iranian authorities to the British government."
Bennett said he hopes the British embassy will be able to visit the couple in prison and take them basic items such as vitamins and a change of clothes. "The trouble is that I don't see an end to this at the moment, which is the hardest thing," he told the BBC. "We just want them home."