Lindsay Foreman, a British woman sentenced to 10 years in prison by an Iranian court on espionage charges, has described her detention as an 'endurance test for the mind'. Speaking to the BBC from Evin prison in Tehran before her sentencing alongside her husband Craig, she maintained her innocence and called for justice under the Iranian constitution.
The couple were arrested in January last year during a five-day trip across Iran en route to Australia. They appeared in court in Tehran in the autumn. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the sentence as 'completely appalling and totally unjustifiable'.
Foreman said she and her husband had resorted to writing letters and going on hunger strike in a bid for justice. She admitted responsibility for travelling to Iran against Foreign Office advice but questioned how overland trips could avoid the country given the lack of alternative routes. She noted that Iranian tourist literature describes guests as 'God's companions', adding that while the people are warm, their circumstances prevent full hospitality.
Her son, Joe Bennett, stated that no evidence of spying has been presented and urged the British government to 'act decisively' to secure their release. Alicia Kearns, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on arbitrary detention, criticised the government for lacking firm action compared to other nations like France, which has taken legal steps at the International Court of Justice.
The couple are held in separate wings of Evin prison, the same facility where British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained. The prison, bombed by Israel last June, is overcrowded after recent protests. Cases involving foreign detainees in Iran often take years to resolve, and tensions are heightened by US President Donald Trump's threats to use UK bases for attacks on Iran.
Foreman described being on an 'emotional rollercoaster' but expressed gratitude for her past life, saying she is 'surrounded by people who are in worse situations'. She remains hopeful that her ordeal will eventually end.
