Fears are growing for a British couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who have been on hunger strike for 55 and 46 days respectively in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The couple, both 53, were arrested 18 months ago while on a world motorbike tour and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they deny. UN human rights experts have demanded their urgent release, warning that their incarceration raises grave concerns about state hostage-taking and that their hunger strike has reached a ‘medical emergency.’ Friends and family are now so concerned for the couple’s wellbeing that they are drafting a letter, signed by loved ones, imploring them to halt their protest in order to protect their health.
Lindsay’s son, Joe Bennett, expressed his concern, stating that he doesn’t ‘want to think about the worst happening,’ adding that ‘my biggest concern is time. As each day passes, it’s a day closer to potential harm.’ Prolonged hunger strikes can lead to muscle wastage, organ damage, and, in the worst case, death. The Foremans have survived on just water, with a little milk and honey, since their strike began.
At a meeting with the British ambassador Hugo Shorter in mid-June, Ms Foreman was said to be alarmingly weak and much thinner. Fears for the couple’s wellbeing have been compounded by weeks without proper contact, after their phone calls were cut off in May. The family have had to rely on snatched messages – which take weeks to arrive – to get basic information.
In a letter from Evin prison, Ms Foreman revealed her dedication to what she called the couple’s ‘freedom fast,’ stating that they are continuing because they must expose the corruption and cruelty in Iran. Ms Foreman insisted that her and her husband’s bodies will recover from the ordeal, and that they will live long, happy lives knowing they committed themselves to making a difference. However, Mr Bennett hopes his mother and stepfather will reconsider once they have received the letter of intervention from their worried loved ones.
Mr Bennett also hit out at a ‘baffling’ lack of government action to help secure his parents’ release. Last month, it was revealed that Iran is seeking the return of an Iranian national, Richard Jan, who has languished in a maximum-security British prison for 23 years. The couple urged British officials to consider an exchange, drawing comparisons to the case of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained for six years in Iran before she was finally freed after the British government settled a £400m arms debt with the country.
A UK government spokesperson insisted there was ‘no truth whatsoever to the claims of a potential exchange arrangement,’ however, deputy prime minister David Lammy admitted that ‘arrangements can be made’ when questioned about the issue on Sky News. Despite Mr Lammy’s comments, Foreign Office officials have continued to insist, in meetings with the Foreman family, that there is no credibility to the idea. Mr Bennett expressed his frustration, stating that ‘I don’t know what is needed to turn the dial for them to address this,’ and called for urgent action to help his family.
He added that ‘they [the government] haven’t had the backbone to call it arbitrary detention. We have a UN special rapporteur calling it hostage-taking.’ Mr Bennett concluded that ‘I think they should be embarrassed that they are not doing more, and that they are not being more authoritative.’
