UK couple held in Iran moved to 'worst' prisons: son

A British couple detained in Iran for seven months on espionage charges have been moved to separate prisons in and near Tehran, heightening fears for their welfare, their son told AFP on Monday.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52 and who previously split their time between southeast England and Spain, were seized in Kerman, in central Iran, in early January while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.

Their family has known little about their whereabouts since then, but say they learned Sunday via the UK Foreign Office that Lindsay has been transferred to Qarchak women’s prison near the capital.

It has a dubious reputation, with human rights groups repeatedly criticising dire conditions reported there.

“It’s one of the worst prisons in the world,” Lindsay’s son Joe Bennett said in an interview Monday near his home in Folkestone, southeast England.

Meanwhile, his stepdad Craig has been moved to Tehran’s infamous central prison, also known as Fashafouyeh, which is about 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of the capital and has similar notoriety.

Bennett, who has yet to talk to his parents since they were detained more than 200 days ago, called the developments “unbelievably tough”.

“Because of where they are, I’m worrying more than I was ever,” he added, urging Iranian authorities to allow British officials fresh access to the couple and to let his parents call home.

“You’re just thinking, ‘is she OK’,” he said of the seven-month ordeal, adding “it’s like you feel sick all the time”.

– Fears –

“I do have confidence in their resilience, they are mentally strong,” Bennett told AFP.

But the 31-year-old sales manager, who used to speak to his mum nearly daily, fears overcrowding at their new prisons and that they may be abused, as well as a fallout from their enforced separation.

“I believe they will be, together, as strong as possible, but now they’ve been separated… that lifeline has been taken.”

The couple, who were on a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip, entered Iran from Armenia and had only intended to stay four days before crossing into Pakistan.

The UK government advises against all travel to Iran, after a string of British and UK-Iranian dual nationals have been detained over the last decade.

Western governments have accused Tehran of using them as bargaining chips amid perpetually fraught relations between Iran and the West.

Bennett noted the family — which includes three other siblings — were confident they “knew what they were doing” given they are “experienced travelers”.

He said the couple took “every means possible” to travel safely and compliantly through the country, including getting tourist visas, hiring tour guides, keeping to main roads and staying in hotels.

Relatives first realised something was wrong when the couple stopped communicating but their messages on WhatsApp and other platforms showed as having been read.

Iran then said in February that the Foremans were accused of entering Iran “posing as tourists” to gather information.

It claimed to have established links between the couple and foreign intelligence services and that they were being held on “espionage charges”.

– ‘Crazy’ –

Bennett dismissed the claim that his parents are spies as “crazy”.

“They’re not spies or political players. They are just two people who are traveling around the world.”

He also renewed his criticism Monday of the UK government, saying it felt like ministers and officials were just going “through the motions” in their response.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said it was “deeply concerned” at Iran’s espionage allegations and that it continues to raise the case “directly with the Iranian authorities”.

“We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members,” she added.

But Bennett claimed the family’s letters to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy had gone unanswered, while meetings with junior ministers left them feeling underwhelmed.

“If you’re not taking accountability for two UK citizens abroad, and you’re not acknowledging us as a family, we don’t feel like we’re getting supported in the right way,” he said.

Bennett said the family had been receiving support and advice from former British detainees in Iran and their relatives, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held there for several years, and her husband Richard Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe mounted a years-long campaign for his wife’s release, which eventually occurred in 2022.