The British woman detained in Iran during a round-the-world motorbike trip, Lindsay Foreman, was recently moved to the same prison holding her husband, according to her son.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman. Pic: Family handout
Mrs. Foreman and her husband, Craig Foreman, who hail from East Sussex, were arrested in January and subsequently charged with espionage, allegations they both strenuously deny. The couple was initially held together in a prison in the Iranian city of Kerman before authorities separated them in August; Mrs. Foreman was moved to the harsh conditions of Qarchak women’s prison at that time.
Her son, Joe Bennett, confirmed his mother’s transfer to Evin Prison on Thursday morning, noting his slight but necessary relief following weeks of heightened anxiety. The family had previously been sick with worry over distressing reports of prisoner treatment in Qarchak.
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These reports included the deaths of three women who were allegedly denied essential medical care. Nineteen other inmates in Qarchak were reportedly engaged in a hunger strike over the abysmal conditions inside the facility, which significantly heightened the family’s distress about Lindsay’s safety.
The transfer of the Briton detained in Iran moved to Evin Prison offers a small glimmer of hope for the family, despite Evin’s grim international reputation. Mr. Bennett stated plainly that although they felt relieved his mother was out of Qarchak, “Evin is not a safe haven.” He emphasized that it remains one of the most notoriously dangerous prisons in the world, urging against any sense of complacency from the public or the government. “
Knowing that people have died in the same place where mum was held just days ago is unbearable,” he said, reflecting the family’s constant anxiety over the mental and physical conditions the couple is enduring.
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The couple were only meant to be in Iran for five days. Pic: Family handout
The family find themselves in an “agonizing limbo” since the couple’s court hearing on September th, having been told they would receive a verdict within seven to ten days but receiving nothing official. The Briton detained in Iran moved to Evin Prison could, however, facilitate easier communication, which has been fractured, through the British Embassy in Tehran.
Mr. Bennett hopes his mother joining her husband means phone calls and meetings should become much easier to organise, perhaps signalling a positive procedural development.
They view this prison move as a potentially positive step on the long journey to urgently and safely getting them home. The family is now calling for immediate and decisive government action to secure the couple’s release. They plan to plead their case directly to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Thursday, demanding “outcomes” instead of mere updates.
The detention of this Briton detained in Iran moved to Evin Prison tragically echoes the high-profile case of dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who endured more than five years there before her eventual release in . The UK government cannot allow this painful situation to drift any longer; the time for diplomatic action must be now. For more context on Iran’s detention of foreign nationals, you can review Amnesty International’s reports on political prisoners and detention in Iran.
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