Son of Brit couple Craig & Lindsay Foreman detained in Iran for 150 days on spying charges reveals shock at arrests

The Sun

2 days ago

THE young son of a British couple imprisoned in Iran on spying charges has revealed how devastated he was after hearing of his parents' arrest.
Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent almost 150 days in jail since being detained during a round-the-world motorbike trip.
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The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state.
The couple, both in their 50s, were held back in January on unspecified espionage charges.
The Iranian government continues to claim they were 'posing as tourists' to gather intelligence against the Middle East nation.
Ever since their incarceration, the pair have hardly spoken to their loved ones and mainly had contact with the Foreign Office.
Now the teenage son of Craig, a carpenter, and wife Dr Lindsay, a life coach, has revealed how hard the past few months have been on the family.
Anxious Toby said Foreign Office officials visited his mum on Tuesday and handed her a letter from her closest loved ones back home.
He told the Mirror: 'There was a visit yesterday day. Someone from the Foreign Office, checking if she's okay.
"We have been able to pass on a message to the Foreign Office, everyone wrote a letter to give them to them, but we don't know what they received.
'We just don't want to make things worse. We're waiting to see if anything big happens over the next few months.'
The 19-year-old university student described hearing about his parent's arrest as a "real shock".
My dad has been sentenced to death in Iran on trumped-up charges and faces imminent execution - we must save him
He said: 'Everyone in the family is dealing with it in different ways. I had never heard about English people being detained out there.
'I thought there was more of a security concern with them taking relatively expensive bikes out there.
'We were not expecting for them to get detained."
Toby is holding on to hope that due to his mum's long career in psychiatry she will be able to cope with her prison stretch as best as possible and help Craig too.
At the time of Craig and Linday's arrest a spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary said: "These individuals were cooperating with covert institutions linked to the intelligence services of hostile Western countries under the guise of investigative and research activities.
"According to the observations of intelligence and security institutions, the connection of these individuals with several institutions affiliated with intelligence services has been confirmed, and additional investigations are ongoing in this regard."
The judiciary spokesperson also said the pair "were monitored with the cooperation of security agencies and arrested".
The pair first travelled into Iran from Armenia on December 30, and reportedly planned to leave by January 4, as they headed for Australia.
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While in Iran they visited Tabriz, the capital Tehran, and Isfahan before staying in Kerman.
It was here where they were picked up by police and arrested.
At the time, the Foreign Office said the couples arrest had "caused significant concern".
The couple, who had previously been featured on Channel 4 's A New Life in the Sun, had ignored pleas from friends, family and the Foreign Office (FCDO) not to enter Iran.
FCDO guidance explicitly warns against all travel to the country, cautioning that British citizens could be arrested simply for their nationality.
Brits 'face torture and years in hellhole jail' on 'fabricated' espionage charges
CRAIG and Lindsay Foreman could be left to languish in a hellhole jail for years, sources fear.
Insiders believe Iran's merciless leaders have made a "fabricated case" to use Craig and Lindsay as pawns in their sick game to get Western countries to give in to their demands.
United Against Nuclear Iran's (UANI) policy director Jason Brodsky told The Sun while they are unlikely to face execution, they could be jailed for years and face torture.
He said: "Iran uses hostage diplomacy as a means to extract concessions from Europe and the United States.
"Hostages have languished for years behind bars in Iran.
"The Iranian regime has executed dual-nationals previously, or those with Iranian citizenship in addition to American or European nationality.
"Since the Foremans do not have dual-nationality, an execution is unlikely but the danger of harm remains.
"The Iranian regime employs both psychological and physical torture methods depending on the situation."
Insiders and campaigners say it is likely the couple were arrested simply for being British.
It is feared they have been taken "hostage" to put pressure on the UK.
Hossein Abedini of the National Council of Resistance told The Sun: "All of these actions are aimed at gaining leverage from the country to which the hostages belong therefore, any verdicts could arise.
"This is a repetitive process that has occurred many times, but due to the concessions made by the West, the regime assesses this as a profitable business."
Despite this, the pair acknowledged the extreme risk in a social media post on December 30.
It read: 'Despite the advice of friends, family, and the FCDO (which strongly advises against travel to Iran for British nationals), we've chosen to keep moving forward.
'Why? Because we believe that, no matter where you are in the world, most people are good, kind humans striving for a meaningful life. Yes, we're aware of the risks.
'We also know the rewards of meeting incredible people, hearing their stories, and seeing the breathtaking landscapes of these regions could far outweigh the fear.'
The UK government has been urged to act quickly to try and free the pair.
Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was imprisoned in Iran for six years, urged officials to move faster than they did in her case.
He said: 'My heart goes out to them, and I hope they are not in for a long ordeal, and that the government is able to respond more promptly than it did in our case."
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