Son of couple detained in Iranian jail tells LBC pair are living 'hell on earth' in rat-infested conditions
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were passing through Iran on the way to Australia last January when they were detained
The son of a British couple detained in Iran on suspicion of spying has told LBC his mother and step-father are living "hell on earth" in rat-infested conditions.
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Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, are being kept in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on espionage charges, which they both deny.
The couple were taken into custody in Kerman in January of last year, during a motorcycle tour around the world, before being moved to the prison in the Iranian capital in October.
Speaking after the one year anniversary of their arrest, Lindsay's son Joe Bennett told LBC's Tom Swarbrick on Drive: "They're in Evin Prison, there's vermin in there. They found rats in their beds, there are rats in the kitchen.
"I mean, when you say they can wash, it's cold water. They have to buy soap and stuff from the shop, which is not always replenished.
"From all accounts, it's hell on earth. It's overcrowded, it's unsanitary, it's violent, it's dangerous.
"And if you don't buy fruit and veg from the shop, you're quite literally just eating rice and gristle. And, you know, it's tough because they're still going through that and they have been now for over a year.
"You see the sort of TV shows on the inside of prison cells - that is luxury compared to what they're facing at the moment."
More than 2,400 people have reportedly been killed amid protests during the recent crackdown by the Iranian authorities, according to human rights groups.
Mr Bennett told Tom that the advice at the time was not to travel to the country at risk of being detained, but argued: "They are innocent travellers.
"Regardless of advice, the government can't keep hiding behind that and sitting on their hands and doing nothing, because the advice."
The couple were first detained last January when they were heading to the Pakistani border.
Mr Bennett explained: "Mum entered Iran in January of 2025 and she was in a place called Kamam.
"She was passing through Iran for four days on a rather world trip to Australia. So she's only supposed to be there for a small amount of time and they were checking their bikes onto a freight train on the way to the Pakistani border.
"Somewhere in between that time, around the 3rd of January, she was detained and she's held There still, as well as her husband Craig, on Council of Espionage."
He added: "What started to worry us was that they were coming online on WhatsApp, which is their way of communicating when travelling, and they weren't replying to any of our messages and that started to ring alarm bells.
"So we contacted the Foreign Office, explained the situation and at that point they confirmed that this is a missing person's case."