British couple's appeal against Iran espionage sentence rejected

A British couple jailed in Iran on espionage charges have lost an appeal against their 10-year sentence, according to their family.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while passing through Iran on a round-the-world motorcycle trip.

They were accused of spying - charges they adamantly deny - and were sentenced in February. Both are currently on hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison.

A member of their legal team in the UK told the BBC no reason was given for the rejection of their appeal. Lindsay's son, Joe Bennett, said they were "not permitted to attend their own appeal hearing".

He added: "It is 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."

Bennett said his mother and step-father had been asked to sign documents in Farsi which they could not read, and refused.

Barrister Haydee Dijkstal, part of their legal team in the UK, said: "Craig and Lindsay are innocent tourists who are arbitrarily detained and who have had their fundamental rights severely and consistently violated throughout their detention."

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.

"It's really tough, I don't know where to turn now," he told the BBC. "I'm massively worried for them. But it's hard because I can't talk to them."

The couple have been prevented from calling their family in the UK since they gave an interview to the BBC more than a month ago. They began a hunger strike shortly after their communications with the outside world were cut.

Family members have said Craig, a carpenter, has been refusing food for 25 days. Lindsay, a life coach, briefly resumed eating but is now on day 16 of her hunger strike.

Snippets of news come via the families of their cellmates. Craig - who is taking sugar, milk and water - is now said to be becoming visibly thinner and weaker.

Bennett said there's less information on how his mother, Lindsay, is. He is desperate for news.

The Foreign Office - which warns British citizens against travelling to Iran - has described their incarceration as "unjustified and appalling".

Its current advice states: "Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you."

Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held in Iran for almost six years, said he believed the failure of the Foremans' appeal was a significant moment.

"The Revolutionary Court is a theatre of punishment rather than a real court," he told the BBC. "So when something like this happens it's a signal from the Iranian authorities to the British government."

Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release came after the UK settled a debt worth hundreds of millions of pounds with Iran's government, though British officials never confirmed the link.

The Foreign Office said it will "continue working to ensure that Craig and Lindsay are returned safely to the UK".

In the meantime, Bennett hopes the British embassy will be able to visit them in prison, and take them basic items such as vitamins and a change of clothes.

He would like them to end their hunger strike, for their own health, but understands that they feel that their bodies are the only agency they have.