UN Rights Experts Urge Iran to Release British Couple Jailed for Spying

UN human rights experts have called for the release of a British couple sentenced to 10 years in an Iranian jail over spying claims.

Dr Alice Edwards - the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment - and Mai Sato, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, said proceedings against Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, had been marked by grave irregularities.

The couple were detained in January 2025 while passing through the country on a round-the-world motorcycle trip.

They are now on hunger strike in Tehran's Evin jail, refusing food after phone contact with their family was cut off last month.

Edwards and Sato said keeping them alive and well was the immediate priority.

"After 30 days without food, this is a medical emergency," they said.

"They appear to have been wrongfully detained, prosecuted on highly questionable grounds, and sentenced after proceedings that failed to meet basic fair trial guarantees."

Edwards and Sato were worried the Foremans were being held for political leverage, and have appealed to the Iranian authorities to quash their convictions.

They urged the UK government to try all diplomatic means to get them freed. The couple's last consular visit was back in December.

The Foreign Office said it would continue working to ensure that they are returned safely to the UK.

Lindsay's son Joe Bennett, from Folkestone, Kent, said they were "not permitted to attend their own appeal hearing".

Their case has now been passed to the Supreme Court, according to Bennett, although the family do not understand the legal process or the timeline of what might happen next.

Their last consular visit was back in December.

Joe, who has tirelessly campaigned for the couple's freedom, previously said: "Deals can be made, sanctions can be discussed, shipping lanes can be reopened, but human beings must not be left behind in prison cells.