A group of motorcyclists rode to Parliament Square in London to support Craig and Lindsay Foreman, marking 600 days of the couple’s detention in Iran. The ride was intended to keep the case in the public eye while the two travellers remain imprisoned and their family calls for more active political intervention by the British Government.

Before reaching Westminster, the riders stopped at the Iranian Embassy. Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman’s son, handed a letter to the Iranian ambassador. Bennett had emailed the embassy the previous day to give notice of his visit. He told MCN that the letter asked for the case not to be forgotten, for telephone contact to be restored and for his parents’ innocence to be recognised.

The Foremans, who are from East Sussex, were arrested in January 2025 while riding through Iran as part of an overland motorcycle journey to Australia. They have since been sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, allegations that the couple and their family strongly deny. A possible meeting between Bennett and Ambassador Mousavi had been discussed, but did not take place that day. Bennett said a meeting at a later date had not been ruled out.

A demand for political action

Bennett argued that greater visibility is no longer enough. What is needed, he said, is concrete political action. He called for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband so that the case could be presented directly and the political will to pursue his parents’ return strengthened. According to Bennett, still having to press for a phone call a year later suggested a lack of progress rather than a resolution.

Responding to online critics who argue that the couple brought the detention on themselves by travelling to Iran, Bennett accepted that every adventure involves risk. He also said that the Foremans had valid visas, used a travel guide, kept to main roads and stayed in hotels. They avoided Tehran and planned to spend only four days in the country. In his view, choosing a difficult destination did not remove the couple’s innocence or the Government’s responsibility to seek their return.

Experience from another detention case

Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was previously held in Evin Prison for five years, also attended the event. Craig and Lindsay Foreman are currently held in the same prison. Ratcliffe rejected the idea that publicity necessarily makes such cases worse. Drawing on his own experience, he said public campaigning was what brought the case to wider attention and helped push the public and Government to engage.

Ratcliffe described the situation as stalled and said the current geopolitical climate makes the Foremans’ case more dangerous. He added that the prison where they are held has been bombed within the last 12 months. He welcomed the appointment of Alistair Burt as the Government’s envoy for complex consular detention cases, but said the appointment alone did not amount to a plan for resolving the case.

Detention and hunger strikes

Craig Foreman spoke to MCN by phone from Evin Prison in May. He said that the couple remained imprisoned for something they had not done and called on the British Government to recognise that they were still there. Craig began a hunger strike on May 9. Lindsay started hers on May 18 after being prevented from seeing him. They ended the strikes on August 9, after 93 days for Craig and 84 days for Lindsay.

Joe Bennett said in August that his parents had lost significant weight and were still trying to rebuild their strength. His comments followed his first proper contact with his mother in three months. The Foreign Office told MCN that the couple’s health and welfare were a priority and confirmed that the family had met Stephen Doughty, the Minister for the Middle East, on August 5. A meeting with Ed Miliband had not taken place by then.

Mims Davies, MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield and the Foremans’ former MP, also joined the ride. She said the case needed to remain at the centre of attention because the news cycle moves quickly and international tensions can push individual cases out of public view. She also stressed that the Foremans were tourists, a point the motorcyclists’ involvement was intended to highlight.

The event was organised by adventure rider Adrian Kriss, who has pledged to lead a ride every 100 days until the couple are freed. A petition calling for the Foremans’ release is approaching 90,000 signatures, with organisers aiming for 100,000, while an online fundraiser continues to support the family. The motorcycling community is therefore turning a journey towards Australia into a recurring public reminder that two travellers remain detained.