UK couple jailed in Iran face added sentence after appeal rejected

Craig Foreman has now been handed an additional two-year prison sentence in Iran. The appeal against the couple’s espionage convictions was rejected in June 2026. The new penalty adds to the 10-year terms Craig and Lindsay Foreman received in February, and the family says it was imposed after Craig spoke to the press while held in Tehran.

The East Sussex couple have been detained in Iran since January 2025, when they were arrested while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey. Their case was heard at Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran before Judge Abolghasem Salavati, and both were convicted of espionage, which they deny. The trial on 27 October 2025 lasted just three hours and ended without any meaningful chance to present a defence, family members say.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were not allowed to attend the appeal hearing and were required to sign Farsi documents they could not read. Craig Foreman was then taken before a judge without a lawyer, translator or any opportunity to defend himself, the family says. The couple have been held in Evin Prison in Tehran.

Craig Foreman started his hunger strike on 9 May, and Lindsay Foreman followed on 18 May. In June, UN experts said Lindsay had been on hunger strike for more than 30 days and Craig for more than 20, warning that both were at grave risk. They said the pair had been travelling through Iran with valid visas and a licensed guide, and that the case appeared to involve no evidence, language barriers, lack of chosen legal representation and possible torture or ill-treatment.

The UN experts said such detention can amount to hostage-taking under international law. The family’s legal team says the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will now be asked to consider the extra sentence.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has already condemned the 10-year sentences as appalling and unjustifiable, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to provide consular assistance while warning British and British-Iranian nationals not to travel to Iran because of the risk of arrest, questioning or detention. The family says all communication and consular contact have been cut off.