{"id":68025,"date":"2025-09-09T16:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T16:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/sussex-couple-held-in-iran-in-dire-situation-says-son\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T16:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T16:56:00","slug":"sussex-couple-held-in-iran-in-dire-situation-says-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=68025","title":{"rendered":"Sussex couple held in Iran in \u2018dire\u2019 situation, says son"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-0 cYDsPh\"><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-11 bxdaHR\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sc-c4820dd1-7 dbQBRo\">Nathan Bevan<\/span><span data-testid=\"undefined-role-location\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-8 evcqcz\">BBC News, South East <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 kSquvq\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-86c96223-1 evkFpM\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/be3f\/live\/468f94e0-8d8f-11f0-a1ac-7f737f1e1f19.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Family handout A man and woman smile on holiday. The woman has shoulder length blonde hair and is wearing a red top, the man has short brown hair, stubble and a lilac t-shirt. There is a pool behind them.\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"\/><span class=\"sc-86c96223-2 hqrvRC\">Family handout<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 jFVvLh\">Lindsay and Craig Foreman were detained in Iran and charged with espionage<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The son of a British couple detained in Iran has said that their situation remained &#8220;dire&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">It comes after Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, recently met with the British Ambassador in Tehran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The pair, who were on a motorcycle trip around the world, were detained by Iranian authorities in January and later charged with espionage \u2013 something the family denies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Calling on the UK government to act, their son, Joe Bennett, of Folkestone in Kent, said: &#8220;They need urgent support, not just words.&#8221; The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">In a statement released by their family, Mr Foreman was said to be &#8220;sharing a single room with 57 men stacked into bunks three high, with little access to fresh air, poor diet and no mattress&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">He is also said to be &#8220;suffering with untreated dental pain&#8221;, but that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was able to transfer money into his account to allow him to buy food and essentials, it added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Meanwhile, Ms Foreman has been &#8220;crammed into unimaginable conditions with around 70 women in a chaotic area of 140 square metres&#8221;, the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;She is forced to endure frequent power cuts in unbearable heat, poor and limited food, sleeping on a metal bunk that leaves her in constant back pain.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 fsBZby\">&#8216;Dignity is being denied&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">During her meeting with the ambassador, she requested a prison transfer in order to be closer to her husband, the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">She has also been permitted a regular call with him, while he has been granted permission to see her once a week, it added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">While the family welcomed this, Mr Bennett also warned against complacency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;Their resilience is extraordinary, but resilience should never be mistaken for acceptable conditions,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;Right now, their dignity is being denied, and we are calling on the government to ensure Mum is transferred and regular family contact maintained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;We have to keep pressing for their release.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/ce86x20g85xo?at_medium=RSS&#038;at_campaign=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nathan BevanBBC News, South East Family handout Lindsay and Craig Foreman were detained in Iran and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[4126,7497,770,224,3278,1851,7354],"class_list":["post-68025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-couple","tag-dire","tag-held","tag-iran","tag-situation","tag-son","tag-sussex"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - 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