The son of a British couple arrested in Iran on espionage charges has accused the British government of not doing enough to free them.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested and jailed in Kerman in January while on a motorcycle tour around the world.
The couple, from East Sussex, have denied spying allegations.
Speaking to Sky News, their son Joe Bennett said there were many similarities with the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British national, after she was imprisoned by the regime between 2016 and 2022.
“They are very passive themselves,” he said of the British government.
They have two British citizens accused of spying for the British government, but they won’t come out and defend them and they won’t call. [it out] for what it is
“You have to stand up for your citizens and call it out.”
He denied Iran’s accusation that his mother and her partner were involved in espionage and accused the regime of “hostage-taking”.
“If they’re accused of shoplifting, it’s potentially understandable, let’s see a court of law, if they’re arrested for an offence, let’s go through that,” he said.
They haven’t done that and they’ve been charged with espionage, which is a government-level political charge, right?
“They’re not spies, it’s that simple.”
Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard, also supports Mr. Bennett’s case.
“For me, I feel like I’m hearing a lot of echoes of our experience in the experience of Joe’s family and others,” he told Sky News.
In October, Mr. Bennett said he spoke to his mother for the second time since she was detained after he was allowed a 20-minute call from prison.
My mother could say very little. His spirit was weak. He told me that the most recent court hearing last week did not go well.
“We were told to expect a verdict rather than another appearance. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I can sense he’s losing hope,” she said.
The couple were separated in August and transferred to different prisons in Tehran, before being reunited in October at the notorious Evin prison, where Ms Zaghari Ratcliffe was also held.
A State Department spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been accused of spying in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
The FCDO provides them with consular assistance and is in close contact with their family members.
