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A British couple captured in Iran on spying charges are being forced to live in a filthy cell with rice and grilled grains as they prepare to celebrate Christmas inside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, their family have said.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman of East Sussex, Was arrested during a motorcycle trip around the world in January And he was later accused of espionage, which he denies.
Mrs Foreman’s son, Joe Bennett, said his mother was “suffering greatly with her skin and weight” after almost a year in prison due to the lack of ventilation and poor conditions.
“It is very dirty,” he said. sky News“She’s cooking, the kitchen is full of rats, It’s horrible for both of them, to be honest,
“They have lost a lot of weight because they are not getting enough nutrition. They are eating rice and porridge every day. They can’t really exercise. It is extremely crowded and cramped.”
As he and his family prepare to celebrate Christmas, he said he feels guilty while his mother remains trapped in a closet.
The Evin House of Detention in Tehran was built to hold hundreds of political prisoners before the Iranian Revolution.
Now housing about 15,000 people, it is notorious for its unsanitary conditions and solitary cells without toilets or beds.
Rare accounts shared by BBC Last year it was reported how in some cases prisoners were interrogated for up to 12 hours a day, threatened with beatings or executed, and crammed into cold, overcrowded cells.
The prison was also attacked several times in Israeli attacks on the capital in June.
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Mr Bennett said the couple, both aged in their 50s, were being supported by the Foreign Office.
He has met with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, but feels “disappointed” by the government’s handling of the situation.
“It’s like they’re waiting for something. We’re in a bit of an impasse right now – Iran is waiting for Britain to withdraw, Britain is waiting for Iran to withdraw, and my parents and I are stuck in the middle.”
“It seems like the policy is to sit and wait and let this judicial process play out, which in my view is a complete circus.”
Mr Bennett has been able to contact her by phone only a few times since her arrest.
He revealed in November that he had gone on hunger strike in a “plea for help” after feeling “let down” by the UK government.
He said this week: “We were told about two months ago, when he was last in court, that there would be sentencing in a few weeks. Now we’re down to two months and nothing has happened.”
“I keep saying that we as a government need to be more accountable and speak out. He is accused of spying, of spying for the British state, and yet the same UK government will not come out and defend him and say they completely deny the allegations.”
The Foreign Office has warned all British and British-Iranian citizens not to travel to Iran due to “significant risk of arrest, interrogation or detention”.
In a statement in October, an FCDO spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been accused of spying in Iran.
“We will continue to raise this matter directly with Iranian authorities.
“The FCDO is providing them consular assistance and is in close contact with their family members.”