Detained Briton describes life in Iran jail to BBC hours before sentencing

Hours before she and her husband were sentenced to ten years in jail for espionage, a British woman who was detained by Iran told the BBC that staying positive in jail was impossible.

In January 2025, Lindsay and Craig Foreman were arrested while travelling through Iran on a round-the-world motorcycle tour.

Lindsay likened their arrest to an endurance test for the mind in a rare telephone interview with Tehran's notorious Evin prison, saying being in prison had a physical toll on her.

Though the couple, who deny the allegations against them, haven't spoken since the sentencing, her son referred to the decision as "gut-wrenching.

In the meantime, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as "completely appalling and completely unjustified.

Lindsay, who spoke over a cracked phone line, said she had been attempting to exercise within the confines of Iran's crowded jail, including running in circles in the tiny prison yard.

I've resigned myself to the fact that my physical fitness hasn't been what it was when I first walked in,

she said during the interview, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Lindsay said it was very difficult to remain positive but that it was being handled "one day at a time".

I'm surrounded by people who are in worse situations and must live this way their entire lives,

she said, 'So in some sense, I'm grateful that I've lived the life I have lived until now, and hopefully one day it will come to an end for me.'

The Foremans had been planning to land in Australia by the end of 2024, crossing from Armenia into Iran on December 30th, 2024, and expecting to land in Pakistan by 4 January this year.

Despite having Iranian visas, a tour guide, and an approved itinerary, the couple was arrested on January 3rd.

Joe Bennett, Lindsay's uncle, said no evidence of espionage had been found by the Iranian authorities and that the UK government has been encouraged to act quickly and use every available means to bring them home.

Bennett has said that the couple's lawyers in Iran made it clear that there was no legal basis for a lawsuit against them, but that their bail applications had been rejected. They were not allowed to defend themselves at a court hearing in October.

According to the family, a judge delivered their sentence at the Tehran Revolutionary Court's Branch 15.

Lindsay said hours before this was delivered that she and her husband had sent a letter to the Iranian authorities to protest their treatment in what she described as a desperate attempt to seek revenge.

We've done everything we can to be respectful of their system, to be patient with the court process, and hoping that our innocence will prevail,

she said.

Lindsay continued that they wanted to exercise their right to be understood and demonstrate that what Iran's legal system was doing to them was "unfair and unfair.

You're in breach of the rules even in your own system, your own judicial system,

she told them.

The Foremans are being held in separate wings of Evin prison, which has long been chastised for suspected torture and inhumane conditions. According to reports, thousands of prisoners, including journalists and political prisoners, are held in the detention centre.

The Sussex couple, who are both in their 50s, had been living in tragic circumstances for 13 months, according to Bennett, who added that they were surrounded by "dirt, vermin, and violence.

According to human rights organisations, foreign nationals detained in Iran are often held for influence and released only after the regime receives something in return. The couple may be used as diplomatic bargaining chips, according to the BBC.

Bennett said he had repeatedly urged the Foreign Office to assist the Foremans.

He has reported that his family was abandoned by the government and that the letters he sent to the prime minister and foreign minister went unanswered.

Cooper responded to the sentence: "We will continue to investigate this case with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the United Kingdom and reunited with their families.

"In the meantime, their wellbeing is our highest priority, and we will continue to offer consular assistance to them and their families.

The Foreign Office has long advised against all travel to Iran, advising British and British-Iranian dual citizens that a British passport or any link to the UK could result in detention.

Lindsay told the BBC on Wednesday that she and Craig had checked the government website before arriving in Iran and had sought guidance on how to travel through a difficult-to-navigate area.

"I took my hand up and accepted responsibility for being here.

In recent years, Iran has arrested scores of Iranians with dual nationality or permanent residence, mainly on intelligence and national security charges. At least 15 people have ties to the United Kingdom.

After the United Kingdom settled a long-standing £650 million debt owed to Tehran, British-Iranian citizens Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released in

Following sustained pressure from their respective governments, French citizens Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris, and Olivier Grondeau, as well as German national Nahid Taghavi, were all released from Iranian jails.

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