Family of UK couple detained in Iran and supporters hand petition to No 10

The son of a British woman detained with her husband in Iran has handed in a petition to Downing Street calling on the Government to do more to free them.

It is a year since Lindsay and Craig Foreman were taken into custody in January during a world motorcycle tour and were later charged with espionage.

The couple, of East Sussex, deny the allegations and are in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

Ms Foreman’s son Joe Bennett was joined by former detainee Anoosheh Ashoori and Richard Ratcliffe, who fought a public campaign that involved two hunger strikes to have his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed from Iran, at the steps of Number 10 Downing Street to deliver the 70,000-signature petition.

Mr Bennett, of Folkestone, Kent, told the Press Association: “It is the year anniversary of them being taken which is not something we want to celebrate but we are here to make sure there is as much publicity and pressure we can get.”

Mr Bennett, who is campaigning for the couple’s release, said: “Ultimately, I need to know they (the Government) are working as hard as they can to get them home – that is what I need and what we all want.”

The petition has 70,000 signatures “which is a clear sign there is a strong belief that this is nothing but an arbitrary detention”, he said.

The petition was handed in after a choir of concerned supporters sang a rendition of Stand By Me.

Every day they are in prison “chisels away at their mental and physical health,” according to Mr Bennett.

He said: “They (the Government) need to come out and defend their citizens – that is what we want.

“We want public acknowledgement that it is completely barbaric they are being held on these charges of espionage, that they are not spies for the British state and they are going to do everything they can to get them home.

“When you call it for what it is, hopefully it gives you more leverage to be able to get the right thing done.”

He was speaking on Saturday as Iranian media reported another day of clashes between security forces and demonstrators.

Protests erupted in Iran last Sunday over inflation and currency devaluation, after the Iranian rial hit a record low against the US dollar.

Violence surrounding the protests in Iran sparked by the Islamic Republic’s dipping economy killed two more people, authorities said on Saturday, raising the death toll in the demonstrations to at least 10 as they showed no signs of stopping.

The new deaths follow US President Donald Trump’s warning to Iran on Friday that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters” the US “will come to their rescue”.

Iran responded by threatening to attack American troops in the Middle East if Mr Trump followed through on his threat.

Mr Bennett described it as a “worrying situation”, adding: “We don’t know if it is a good thing or a bad thing – that is the problem.”

Amid the uncertainty, he said he was urging his parents to prepare for different possible scenarios, including what they may have to do if the regime is toppled and if they were to be released from Evin prison.

“Would they be able to get help from the embassy, if it was staffed by officials, or have to travel to the border, would the people they are being held with help them  –  at the moment – we just don’t know but, I think, they have to be as prepared as possible for that eventuality,” he said.

Mr Bennett said he is able to speak to his family in prison but the couple are “being as brave as possible”.

He added: “Their health is deteriorating. It is tough for them. They shield us about what the actual reality is like for them because they do not want us to be afraid.

“My mum is the most important person in the world to me and when you hear her down, dejected, crying and begging to come home – it is hard to take.

“Yes, they are strong but every day is a day that chisels away at their mental and physical health.”

The petition was handed over as a rally was also taking place in Whitehall, outside Downing Street, in solidarity with those protesting in Iran.

The Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK are calling on the British Government to publicly demand an immediate end to the crackdown on protesters and an end to executions in Iran.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We remain deeply concerned that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.

“We continue to provide the Foremans with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”