UN Calls on Iran to Free British Couple on Hunger Strike

Thu Jun 18 2026 07:08:23 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

UN experts urge Iran to release Lindsay & Craig Foreman, a British pair jailed for spying, after their 10‑year sentence upheld.

UN special rapporteurs say the 10‑year sentence of British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman in Iran is wrongful, citing irregularities and political leverage. The pair, who were arrested on a global motorbike tour, are now on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison. The experts call this a medical emergency after 30 days without food. The UK Foreign Office vows to keep diplomatic pressure alive and the family demands the prisoners return safely.

UN Calls on Iran to Free British Couple on Hunger Strike

UN human‑rights experts, Dr Alice Edwards and Mai Sato, have slammed the 10‑year jail term given to British citizens Lindsay and Craig Foreman as “wrongful” and “politically leveraged”. The couple were detained in January 2025 while touring the world on motorcycles and have denied any wrongdoing.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison — The Foremans are now on hunger strike after their phone contact with family was cut off.

Edwards and Sato warned that "after 30 days without food this is a medical emergency" and that the couple should never have been incarcerated in the first place. Their appeals were dismissed in February, and the family must navigate a complex legal path to possibly bring the case to the Supreme Court.

The UK Foreign Office says it will keep pushing diplomatic leverage and hopes for a safe release. The Foremans’ son, Joe Bennett, has been campaigning for a prisoner‑exchange and insists any peace deal with Iran must include the fate of foreign detainees.

For more details, read the full BBC report here.