Craig Foreman, 53, a British national, is serving his sentence in a notorious Tehran prison, which has been caught in the crossfire of the Iran war. Foreman’s son, Joe Bennett, is appealing to Donald Trump for help, citing that he was “let down” by the British government.
According to The Independent, Craig and his wife, Lindsay, who are from East Sussex, were arrested in January 2025 while traveling through Iran as part of their motorcycle world tour. The couple has been jailed for 10 years, and they are being held in Evin prison. The Tehran lockup is at risk amid the ongoing joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The couple’s son, Joe Bennett, said he felt abandoned by the British government. According to The Independent, British consular staff did not inform the Foremans they were leaving Iran a day before the war began.
British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman remain imprisoned inside Evin Prison as airstrikes continue to hit Tehran. They were sentenced on espionage charges last year, charges they deny.
Their son, Joe Bennett, tells CBS News’ Haley Ott that they were innocent travelers caught… pic.twitter.com/eo2uFVwqEK
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 4, 2026
Speaking with The Telegraph, Bennett said, “My government has let me down. They are British citizens who appear to have been abandoned. They are in real and immediate danger.” The son has also told The Independent that his parents were allegedly held in solitary confinement. They were also allegedly denied legal representation during the ordeal.
Bennett explained why he is now appealing to Donald Trump. He claimed that neither British Prime Minister Keir Starmer nor the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has responded to his multiple letters pleading for help.
Bennett is set to visit Washington to speak at the U.S. Capitol this week during the Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention. He believes that Trump would be able to offer his support. “Donald Trump is a father, and he has a family. I am sure he loves them deeply. And that is the reason I appeal to him to help us get them out,” Bennett told the Independent.
“The US is actively bringing their hostages’ names up in all high-level international discussions, and the UK should be doing this for my parents, too,” he lamented.
🇮🇷🇬🇧 British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman have been jailed for 10 years in Iran on espionage charges.
The pair were travelling through the country as part of a round-the-world motorcycle journey when they were arrested in 2025.
The UK government has condemned the sentence… pic.twitter.com/n180r2yaCM
— Europa.com (@europa) February 19, 2026
Bennett previously described a strike that occurred very close to the Tehran prison on the day the conflict erupted. He was on the phone with his mother at that time, who described a scene of mass hysteria. According to Bennett, Lindsay Foreman told him the terrified female prisoners took shelter under metal bunk beds as an explosion shattered windows and even tore down the plaster from the ceiling.
As Bennett prepares for a Washington visit, a Foreign Office spokesperson said, “The welfare of British nationals detained in Iran is a priority for this government and continues to be during the current situation in the Middle East.”
The spokesperson told The Independent, “Craig and Lindsay’s sentences are completely appalling and totally unjustifiable, and we will continue to pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian regime and will do so until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.”
