Parents held in Iran's 'worst prisons', says son

The East Sussex couple were arrested in Iran at the start of the year

The son of a British couple detained in Iran has learnt about their whereabouts after seven months of "silence and uncertainty".

Joe Bennett said the UK government had confirmed Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, had been separated and were being held in "Iran's worst prisons".

The couple, who were on a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, were detained by Iranian authorities in January and later charged with espionage – something the family denies.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said they were continuing to raise their case directly with Iran's government.

"We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members," they added.

'Leverage'

Mr Bennett said his mum has been transferred to Qarchak Prison, a female-only facility that Iran Human Rights says "disregards the most basic principles of human dignity".

Violence, abuse, severe overcrowding, unsanitary drinking water, a lack of basic facilities or adequate healthcare services and degrading, gender-based treatment have been documented by the non-governmental organisation at the prison.

Mr Bennett said his dad was being held in Fashafouyeh Prison, where inmates reportedly suffer inhumane, overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, including severely limited water resources.

Mr and Ms Foreman have been held in solitary confinement

Mr Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent, added the family "feared" for his parents' mental and physical welfare, though they were trying to be strong for them.

"We haven't really got proof of life," he said.

Mr Bennett said his understanding was they had been held in solitary confinement for 30 days.

"I could not imagine what that was like," he told BBC Radio Kent.

He said that visits by British officials had found his dad was "dishevelled and had lost a lot of weight", while his mum was not walking very well due to prison conditions.

Mr Bennett added he believed the couple were being held as political "leverage".

Iran's government previously held Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian national, for six years in what was widely seen as an attempt to pressure the UK to pay a long-standing, multi-million-pound debt.

Mr Bennett called on the FCDO to "do everything they can" to secure their release.