Situation worsens for UK motorcyclists detained in Iran
Detained in Iran for more than eight months, British motorcyclists Lindsay and Craig Foreman are not doing well.
The health of a British motorcycling couple detained in Iran earlier this year is deteriorating, according to their family.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested by Iranian authorities in January and charged with espionage - a charge the couple deny. The two were taking part in a long-distance motorcycling adventure, traveling from the UK to Australia.
The couple have been in and out of Iranian courts a few times since then but seemingly without clear reason or result. In the meantime, according to Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, the couple’s health has been getting worse and worse.
“Craig is constantly ill, multiple rounds of stomach bugs, flu, dental problems, without the correct medical care,” Bennett told BBC News this week. “It’s to my understanding that my mum was on a drip last week. Unsure as to why, but obviously very, very concerning for us as a family.”
Human rights groups have long decried the state of Iranian prisons.
The couple was set to face yet another court hearing this week, however, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had not been informed of the hearing, according to the Foremans’ family - a fact they describe as “deeply troubling.”
Bennett says that it can often take more than a week for the family to get news about Lindsay and Craig, and he therefore does not know the purpose or outcome of this week’s court hearing.
The FDCO - the government department tasked with a number of diplomatic responsibilities, including the protection of the interests of British citizens overseas - has not commented publicly on the Foremans' case - nor would one expect it to do so. Diplomacy is a tricky thing.
However, the FCDO currently advises all British and British-Iranian nationals to avoid traveling to Iran because of a “significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention”.
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Chris Cope is a fourth-generation journalist, originally from Texas. He has lived in the UK for roughly two decades and has been writing about motorcycles for most of that time. He has written for dozens of publications and websites in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.
