had been sentenced to 10 years<\/a> inside Evin Prison in Tehran.<\/p>\nTheir imprisonment was described by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper as \u201ctotally unjustifiable\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Bennett says after what was previously daily interactions, it has now been almost two weeks since the family spoke with them – something they believe could be in response to a media interview they gave.<\/p>\n
He told KentOnline: \u201cThe most concerning thing is I haven\u2019t spoken to my mum in over a week, since Bank Holiday Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know if they\u2019re safe – there were threats they were going to start a hunger strike and we don\u2019t know if that\u2019s begun.<\/p>\n
![\"Lindsay](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
![\"Lindsay](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SOFO4KTXDPV3NMI45TTR.jpg\")
Lindsay and Craig Foreman remain in Tehran\u2019s Evin prison after being convicted of espionage charges<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just don\u2019t know what conditions they\u2019re in, so it\u2019s a concerning time and tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went on a hunger strike in November to get regular calls from family, which was promised by the judge in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, we\u2019d had pretty much daily contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrior to November, it was very sporadic and for the first eight months I didn\u2019t speak to either of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact is we\u2019re back at that point now – which is a very basic human right and lifeline for them and us – but once again they\u2019ve been stripped of that for nothing more than telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Folkestone's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/JFQFJHP1M8CDZSCSYRQG.jpg\")
Folkestone’s Joe Bennett, left, with his younger brother Toby and their mum Lindsay Foreman, who has been detained in Iran<\/p>\n
The couple are being held in Tehran\u2019s notorious Evin prison, where conditions are harsh.<\/p>\n
UK Middle East minister Hamish Falconer recently told Parliament the couple were “innocent tourists”.<\/p>\n
Mr Bennett says the family are going to put questions to Mr Falconer on Thursday (May 21).<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cGratefully, we have an adjournment next Thursday which gives us 30 minutes to ask direct questions to them, which Hamish Falconer will have to answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are continually trying to raise awareness and change the political wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at countries like France, which managed to get people out during and after the war, and safely home, and the way Macron championed his citizens it inspires you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation for the government must be difficult and I get that, but one thing we\u2019re asking for is a change in language, firstly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the ambassador had a call with my mum going back three or four weeks ago, the language he was using when she described it to me was very defeatist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nobody in the country for them to talk to and he essentially said \u2018prepare to be there a long time\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people who need hope the most are my mum and Craig. They\u2019ve been in a really precarious situation and one none of us can imagine without going through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the people who are supposed to be fighting for them are using language which gives them no hope and like there is no end.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against UK citizens travelling to Iran.<\/p>\n
It says: \u201cBritish and British-Iranian dual nationals are at significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention.\u201d<\/p>\n
It adds even \u201chaving a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Bennett says the couple are innocent human beings who have not committed any crimes.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhether people\u2019s opinions are they should have been there or not, it\u2019s important they understand the plight they\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe analogy I use is if someone walks down an alleyway at night and gets assaulted, it\u2019s not their fault for walking – it\u2019s the fault of the perpetrator where the problem lies.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo innocent people do not deserve to go through what they are currently experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of a British couple jailed for 10 years in Iran on spying charges say more people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40058,3764,34,14108,40059],"class_list":{"0":"post-116507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-folkestone","9":"tag-human-interest","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-kent","12":"tag-syndicate"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116583872856970239","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/INFJIFYW6ZOXFQ1QY3I7.jpg\")
Joe Bennett, right, on The Leas in Folkestone with his mum Lindsay Foreman and her partner Craig Foreman, who have been jailed in Iran<\/p>\n