The family of British national Craig Foreman said an Iranian judge added two years to his prison term after accusing him of speaking to the media, while he serves a 10-year sentence for espionage alongside his wife, Lindsay Foreman.
The additional penalty came after the couple were arrested in 2025 during a motorcycle trip through Iran as part of a round-the-world journey. The UK government described the original sentence as “wholly unjustifiable.”
Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman’s son and the family’s spokesperson, said they were informed that Craig Foreman was brought before a judge and told his sentence had been increased for speaking to the press.
Bennett said Foreman had been told he was going to see his lawyer but was instead taken before a judge, where, according to the family statement, he was notified of the extra sentence.
According to the family’s account, Craig Foreman received the new penalty for contacting the media, raising his total sentence from 10 to 12 years.
Family reported lack of legal representation and translation
The spokesperson also said Foreman had no access to a lawyer or a translator and was not given any opportunity to defend himself.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman are serving 10-year sentences for espionage charges they deny. They were detained while traveling through Iran by motorcycle during their global trip.
Last month the British couple lost their appeal against the conviction.
Neither was allowed to attend the hearing or given an explanation for the appeal’s rejection. They were asked to sign documents in Persian that they could not read. “They were not permitted to attend their own appeal hearing,” said Joe Bennett, Lindsay’s son.
Lawyer Haydee Dijkstal, part of the UK legal team, said the couple are “innocent tourists arbitrarily detained whose fundamental rights have been seriously and systematically violated during their detention.” The case has been referred to Iran’s Supreme Court, although the family does not know the timeline, the process, or whether effective legal representation will be available. Iran’s judiciary did not respond to requests for comment.
The couple’s communications with the outside were cut off more than a month ago after an interview they gave to the BBC. Since then, both have started hunger strikes in protest. The last consular contact occurred in December.
Craig, a carpenter by trade, has gone 25 days without eating and is consuming only sugar, milk and water. He is increasingly weak. Lindsay, a life coach, resumed the hunger strike after a short pause and has now gone 16 days without food.
Information about their condition reaches the family only through cellmates. “It is another reason why two British citizens, with no other options, are undertaking a hunger strike in protest,” Bennett said, adding that he has less information about his mother’s condition than about his stepfather’s.
The UK Foreign Office described the imprisonment as “unjustified and appalling” and expressed disappointment at the appeal outcome. It said the ambassador in Tehran visited them in prison and arranged calls with their family during the past year.
The family alleged earlier this year that the couple were being used as “human shields” amid the regional conflict. The government has long warned that holding a British passport or having ties to the UK “can be sufficient reason for Iranian authorities to detain you.”
Iran has a history of detaining Western nationals on security-related charges. Several governments and human rights organizations accuse Tehran of using such detainees as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations, an allegation the Iranian government denies.