A British couple who had been on a motorbike tour all over the world have been detained in Iran, Britain’s international workplace stated on Saturday.
The couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, have been final heard from on social media in early January. However this week, Iranian state media reported that two British nationals had been detained on suspicion of “safety crimes.”
Britain’s international workplace confirmed their detention after the Iranian reviews, and on Saturday issued an announcement on behalf of the couple’s household.
“This surprising flip of occasions has triggered vital concern for our total household, and we’re deeply targeted on making certain their security and well-being throughout this attempting time,” the household stated.
Mr. and Ms. Foreman, each of their mid-50s, have been on a motorbike tour to Australia, the place Ms. Foreman was set to ship a paper at a convention on psychology. They reside in Spain, the place Ms. Foreman labored as a psychologist and life coach and Mr. Foreman as a carpenter.
The couple’s detention first got here to mild when Iranian state media revealed {a photograph} of Britain’s ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, assembly with two British residents accused of “safety crimes.”
Iranian state media blurred the couple’s faces within the picture, taken on the workplace of the prosecutor in Kerman, a metropolis greater than 600 miles east of the capital, Tehran.
In its assertion, the household stated it was “actively participating with the British authorities and related authorities, working diligently to navigate the complexities of this matter.”
It’s unclear how lengthy the couple has been held in Iran. Earlier than their detention, the Foremans shared their travels on social media. They final posted on Jan. 3, saying they have been in Iran.
“To place your minds at relaxation, we’re having probably the most superb time in Iran,” the couple stated in a Fb put up, including that they have been touring with a tour information. On Instagram, Ms. Foreman posted an image of herself assembly a theologian at a madrasa in Isfahan, the place she wrote that “journey continues to show me that humanity’s core is shared.”
The couple had crossed into Iran from Armenia, and have been planning to go to Pakistan subsequent, that they had stated.
“The UK authorities advises in opposition to all however important journey to those areas, and the information paints a reasonably grim image,” they posted on Fb on Dec. 30. “We need to discover out for ourselves. That’s the reason we’re right here.”
The put up included two pictures side-by-side: one of many International Workplace’s orange and yellow map of Iran, advising British residents to not journey to Iran, and one other of a photograph of the inexperienced lawns of a mosque, a picture whose location was pinned to Norduz, close to Iran’s border with Armenia.
The international workplace advises in opposition to all journey to Iran, issuing a warning that “British and British-Iranian twin nationals are at vital danger of arrest, questioning or detention.”
Iran has repeatedly jailed foreigners and twin nationals during the last decade, together with an Iranian-American citizen and an Italian journalist detained final 12 months and a Swedish E.U. official arrested in 2023.
A number of British-Iranian dual-citizens have been amongst these arrested, amongst them Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held for six years; Aras Amiri, a 32-year-old artwork scholar; and Abbas Edalat, an educational and antiwar activist. Ms. Amiri, arrested whereas visiting her grandmother and accused of espionage, was launched after three years in jail, and Mr. Edalat was launched after a number of months.
Human rights teams have stated many of those detentions are a part of a deliberate coverage to extract concessions from different nations, together with prisoner swaps.
