British motorcyclists Lindsay and Craig Foreman have spent almost 22 months in Iran’s Evin Prison. Their family is now pressing the UK government to turn its assurances into concrete action, following its first meeting with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

Joe Bennett, Lindsay’s son, said the family came away encouraged by the discussion but still impatient. Its requests are for formal recognition that the detention is arbitrary, an extension of diplomatic protection to the couple, and consideration of proceedings at the International Court of Justice. France has used that legal route in relation to its own nationals held in Iran. Bennett’s message was that a meeting, by itself, does not amount to an outcome.

The case so far

The Foremans were travelling around the world by motorcycle when they entered Iran on 31 December 2024 with valid visas. They disappeared on 3 January 2025. Six weeks later, Iranian state media announced that they had been arrested on espionage charges.

Both were sentenced to ten years in prison in February, following a hearing that lasted less than three hours. The family says they were unable to present a defence and were not allowed to attend the appeal hearing, which was rejected. The UK government describes them as innocent tourists. In June, two UN Special Rapporteurs characterised the case as state hostage-taking intended to create political leverage.

The family also has support in Parliament. Forty-nine parliamentarians from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs wrote to the Foreign Secretary in support of its position.

Health and communication

The meeting included MPs Tony Vaughan KC and Dr Lauren Sullivan, Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty, the Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions Alistair Burt, and the couple’s legal team. Barrister Haydee Dijkstal called the discussion positive and productive, while expressing cautious hope that every option would be properly examined in the effort to bring Lindsay and Craig back to their families.

The hunger strikes ended on 9 August, after 93 days for Craig and 84 for Lindsay. Their family says supplies are still not reaching them reliably. Telephone contact, which was cut off in May, has returned only in a limited form: one closely supervised call each week.

The UK Foreign Office says the couple’s health and welfare are a top priority. It says the British ambassador in Tehran, alongside diplomats and officials in London, is working to provide consular assistance, including visits to the prison.