Son pleads for UK action as mother set to spend Christmas in 'dirty, rat-infested' Iranian prison with partner
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, will be spending their Christmas in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on espionage charges, which they deny
The son of a British woman who is detained in Iran alongside her husband says the couple are being kept in "dire" conditions and urged the UK government to "defend them".
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Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, will be spending their Christmas in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on espionage charges, which they deny.
The couple were taken into custody in Kerman in January during a motorcycle tour around the world, before being moved to the prison in the Iranian capital in October.
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Lindsay's son Joe Bennett called on the British authorities to do more to help them, telling Sky News that the pair went on hunger strike last month.
Mr Bennett said he was now in contact with his mother almost daily, having previously spoken to her only three times in just under 11 months.
Describing his mother and stepfather's situation, Mr Bennett said the couple are losing weight because they are "eating rice and gristle every day" and described their prison cells as "overcrowded, dirty and filled with rats".
His mother is also suffering with a bad skin condition, because of a lack of ventilation in the jail.
Mr Bennet said he feels a "sense of guilt" while his mother is "stuck in a cell" unable to celebrate Christmas.
Discussing his frustration with how the Government had handled the situation, he told Sky News: "There is this policy, it seems, to sit and wait and allow this judicial process which is, in my eyes, a complete circus, to play out.
"We were told almost two months ago, when they last were in court, that a sentence would be passed in a couple of weeks. We're now two months down the line and nothing has happened.
"They're not being accused of something like shoplifting, or a petty crime, they are being accused of espionage. This is a state level charge of crime, and they need to be backing their UK citizens."
The Foreign Office warns all British and British-Iranian nationals against all travel to Iran because of "significant risk of arrest, questioning, or detention".
In a statement, a spokesperson for the FCDO said: "We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran.
"We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
"The FCDO are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members."