British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, detained in Iran on spying charges. have had their ability to communicate with their family taken away, allegedly as punishment for taking part in an interview with the BBC
The family of a British couple held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison say they are “terrified” after all contact was cut off.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, have allegedly had their phone cards confiscated by prison officials, leaving their sons and daughters unsure if they are even alive. The couple, whom Minister Hamish Falconer previously described in Parliament as “innocent tourists,” have been detained on spying charges – which they vehemently deny – since January 2025.
The family now fears the couple has been moved to solitary confinement as punishment for speaking to the media. The conditions inside the prison are reportedly dire. Craig, a carpenter, is suffering from an untreated dental abscess and is being held in a wing with other foreign nationals. Lindsay, a psychologist, is reportedly in a cell where no one else speaks English.
Previously Craig told his family that if their ability to communicate was taken away, they would go on hunger strike in protest. The pair previously stopped eating in November 2025 to bring attention to their case.
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Lindsay’s son, Joe, 32, from Folkestone, Kent, who gave up his career to campaign for their release, said in a statement: “We simply do not know if my mum and Craig are safe. Craig told us that they might have to stop eating if their calls were taken away. I have not spoken to my mum for over a week now. Every day of silence makes it worse. We don’t know what is happening to them and we are terrified for them.”
The family claims the couple’s distress peaked following a phone call with the British Ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter. Joe added: “My mum came off that call feeling like Britain had determined to simply abandon them in prison. That is devastating to hear when ministers themselves have publicly acknowledged that my mum and Craig are innocent.
“Hamish Falconer called them ‘innocent tourists’. If that is genuinely the government’s position, why does the message reaching them inside Evin Prison sound like there is no meaningful route being pursued to bring them home?”
During an interview with the BBC in early May, after which the family say they’ve had no contact with the couple, Craig shared chilling details from inside the notorious prison, alleging that four of his cellmates had been executed. He claimed inmates were often taken away under the false promise of a family visit, only for their deaths to be announced on prison TV the next day.
The family have alleged that the couple might also now be solitary confinement in response to the interview
As Lindsay broke down in tears on the call, Craig could be heard comforting her: “We can do this. We will do this. We’ll get through it together and, sometime, I hope soon, we will be on the other side of these walls. So stay strong, my love.”
Lindsay, a psychologist, has two sons: Toby, 19, and Joe, 32 – who has given up his career and normal life to campaign for his mum and step-dad’s freedom and Craig, a carpenter, has two children of his own, Kieran, 27, and Chelsea, 30.
A spokesperson for the FCDO said: “Since Lindsay and Craig’s arrest last year, Britain’s Ambassador to Tehran, diplomats and officials in London have been working to provide consular assistance. This includes the ambassador visiting them in prison and facilitating calls with their family back in the UK.
“The Foreign Secretary last met the family on 17 March. She set out to them personally how unjustified and appalling their incarceration continues to be. The UK Government continues work to safely return Craig and Lindsay to the UK.”
